As the Netherlands celebrates its last Queen's Day, we celebrate the Netherlands

On Tuesday, the Dutch hold the biggest street party in Europe -- Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day). Almost anything goes.

The streets are crowded with people and a huge variety of stalls. For Queen’s Day only, anyone can legally have a street stall (if they can find the space) to sell anything, new or secondhand.

In some respects, it’s a like a giant flea market, albeit with drink, food, jollity, music, fireworks and lots of orange clothing.

With the abdication of Queen Beatrix and the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander, 2013 is even more special.

It will be the last Koninginnedag for some time. Next year and beyond the day will be known as Koningsdag (King’s Day).  

If you’re a newbie to the Netherlands, below are a few Dutch 101 lessons.

For additional practical traveling info, you can check out these other CNN Travel pieces:

• One of Europe's top art and culture spots: Rijksmuseum's $489M mega makeover
• Cafe culture: Amsterdam's 7 coolest hangouts
• Insider Guide to Amsterdam: What to see and do in the city

Grace Belgravia's style is feminine, but subtle.

omen-only clubs are on the rise.

"There’s been a paradigm shift, which means that, increasingly, women are seeking out other women’s company," says Percival. "It’s not that they don’t love their husbands and partners, but they often have deeper conversation with women than men."

Other female-oriented venues include The Sorority, a "women's business club," also in London, and STK, a chain of U.S. steak restaurants with a "flirty, feminine take."

"Women spend their lives multi-tasking, always putting family and work before their own health," adds Percival. "They are bad at actually making time to take stock, usually feeling guilty about having 'me' time and giving themselves breathing space.

"Grace was created to put the best of the best under one roof. I wanted to create a place where women could come and feel cared for and be intellectually stimulated."

Check your egos, and your men, at the door -- Grace Belgravia is for "impressive women" who want their minds stimulated. And "angels" to care for them

’ve just entered Grace Belgravia, London’s first private members club for women only.

It’s a discreet black doorway in London’s swish Belgravia and already I'm feeling slightly self-conscious.

This was probably not the intention of club founder Kate Percival; one of Grace’s aims is to "take the stress out of daily life," and the club is dedicated to "empowering and nurturing women."

But I'm not the target clientele.

For starters, I can’t afford the $8,330 annual membership fee (plus a $3,000 one-off joining fee), nor the lifestyle or wardrobe that one might want to show off in this kind of establishment.

Bikes and canals and a sense of calm make for the best of Amsterdam.

The biggest city in the Netherlands is a triumph of resourcefulness and lateral thinking.

Space is at premium in Amsterdam, where much of the land has been reclaimed from the sea.

The city's planners turned that to their advantage: Amsterdam's canals soothe rather than imprison the city. They provide its order, its calm.

That calm is regularly disturbed by the trill of bicycle bells, but as long as you give the cyclists a wide berth, it's the perfect city for pedestrians.

Now, with Koninginnedag upon us (April 30) and a new king being crowned, it's the perfect time to discover the best of Amsterdam.

The Fleet pours into the Thames under Blackfriars Bridge

At the bend of Ray Street in north London’s Clerkenwell area, a group of people were kneeling down next to a drain grill. They took turns to crouch down and put their ear over the grate, while others kept an eye out for any traffic headed their way. “I can hear it!” said one woman, peering deep into the dark void. “You should come back in summer,” said Paul Talling, the man in charge of the group. “You'll be able to smell it then!”

• Related article: Reawakening the Underground

Of all the ways to get in touch with London's history, sticking your nose in a sewer might not seem the most appealing. But this is no ordinary sewer; the water that can be heard – and just about glimpsed – is that of the River Fleet, one of at least five lost rivers that threaded through London until the mid 19th Century. Most were built over as the city expanded, disappearing below pavement or merging with the new Victorian-era sewage system. Today, they have taken on mythical status, watery ghosts whose presence is now often only marked by street names dating back to when the rivers were above ground.

Talling has made it his task to bring the English capital's lost rivers back to the surface, metaphorically at least. He has written a book, London’s Lost Rivers, tracing the routes of the five main rivers, as well as 22 other canals and waterways that run or ran through the city. Talling also launched a series of guided walks, enabling visitors to dive into London's watery history.

“I love digging below the surface, and starting to uncover hidden layers of London's history,” he said. “Rivers like the Walbrook [in east London] are the reason why London is the city it is today – it was a very important factor in the Romans' decision to settle here.”

Our tour followed a route along the bottom half of the Fleet River, the biggest and most famous of London's former waterways. The group met just outside the Black Friar, an ornately decorated pub built in 1905 on the site of an old Dominican friary near the Blackfriars Bridge.

“Look up above the door,” Talling said, pointing to a panel depicting two monks fishing in a river. ”That's the Fleet.” He led the group towards the nearby Thames walkway, which runs alongside the famous riverbank. From one particular angle, it is just possible to make out the mouth of the Fleet under Blackfriars Bridge, pouring into the Thames. Talling passed around a painting dating from 1750 showing the same scene, only with ships and rowboats passing through an estuary lined with wooden houses.

The Fleet was once an important artery that brought goods and business into the city. As we walked north up what is now Farringdon Street, Talling pointed out the names of the small alleyways leading off towards the west; names such as Old Sea Coal Lane and Turnagain Lane. These testify to the coal ships that would travel along the Fleet, bringing supplies from Newcastle. Nearly all of these alleys once led to a bridge spanning the river.

The Fleet was a typical river for its (pre-sewage system) time, and was regularly used as a dump by the households and businesses along its route. But even for Tudor London, the Fleet was bad – the proximity of the Smithfield meat market, which is still up and running today, meant that its waters were often choked with meat offcuts and waste. Unsurprisingly, the stench made the section south of the market a rather insalubrious place to live. The area soon became renowned as a place of crime and danger – to the extent that Charles Dickens used Saffron Hill, a road running parallel to the Fleet, as the location of Fagin's Den in Oliver Twist. “The street is called Saffron Hill because it used to be grown on the banks of the river”, explained Talling. “Back then, saffron was much cheaper than it is now. It was used to disguise the taste of rancid meat.”

From medieval times, the Fleet was lined with wells, used by local people for drinking water. As the group walked up Farringdon Lane, we stopped off to peer through the glass windows of the Well Court council building, where the remains of the Clerk's Well – which gave the area its name of Clerkenwell – have been preserved. The well itself was named after the Parish clerks who would perform miracle plays (dramatizations of Biblical miracles or Saint's lives) and was in use until the 19th Century.

In Kerala Family

aving kids need not put a stop to global explorations or imaginative travel experiences. Continue the journey with one of these family-friendly holiday ideas.

Kerala, India: The laid-back one
With its riot of sounds, sights and smells, India can prove overwhelming for first-time visitors, not least children. One of the best places to acclimatise is mellow Kerala, where families can enjoy the country’s richness of nature, history and culture without the hassle.

Flanked by the mountainous Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, the slender state descends from tea plantation-cloaked slopes to golden beaches that edge into vivid blue seas. In between is Kerala’s tangle of backwaters, 560 miles of emerald waterways that wind languidly past paddy fields and riverside villages. Gliding along in a traditional teak-and-palm-thatch houseboat, watching local life play out and sleeping under the stars, is one of India’s most magical experiences to share with your children.

In the summer holidays, there’s an additional treat: the colourful snake boat races, where teams of up to 100 oarsmen compete in long, canoe-style boats while cheering crowds look on. The most famous is the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held in Alappuzha on the second Saturday of August, a spectacle young travellers won’t easily forget. Though the snakes here are metaphorical, there are plenty of animals to spot in the jungles of the vast Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, including monkeys, tigers and about 1,000 elephants.

Explore’s family holiday in Kerala includes a guided nature trek in Periyar National Park and two days exploring the backwaters near Alappuzha (taking in the Nehru Trophy Boat Race where possible). Families can also cycle Kerala’s back roads, visit local villages and temples and take part in a homestay. Back on the coast, there’s the chance to explore historic Kochi, the oldest European settlement in India, and laze on the palm-fringed sands of Varkala and Kovalam.

• Related article: The perfect trip -- Kerala, India

Iceland: The weird and wonderful one
Many Icelanders still believe in supernatural creatures, and if there were a place where elves, dwarves and gnomes surreptitiously roamed, this otherworldly land would have to be it. Straddling tectonic plates, it’s a volcanic playground of fuming earth, twisting lava and glittering icebergs. All this natural drama makes Iceland an exciting prospect for children.

Top of the list should be the twin attractions of Gullfoss, a double cascade that thunders down a narrow ravine, and Geysir, the original hot-water spout after which all others are named. Surrounded by colourful springs and steaming vents, it can shoot water up to 70m into the sky. It’s best to stay out of the way of this one, but elsewhere Iceland’s geothermal oddities invite the curious to come closer. Almost every town has a thermal pool to swim in, with the Blue Lagoon near Reykjavík the most famous. Here, familes can splash about in the warm turquoise waters against a backdrop of eerie lava fields.

These mysterious landscapes are easy to explore. Hiking is one option, but a more memorable way to experience them is to ride a pony across the black rocks or to the summit of one of Iceland’s numerous volcanoes. A trip to the surreal lava caves of the Heiđmörk conservation area offers kids the chance to journey into the underworld.

As its name suggests, it is ice, as well as fire, that accounts for some of Iceland’s most magical experiences. The snowy expanses of the world’s third-largest glacier are up for exploration in the Vatnajökull National Park, or at their journey’s end in Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. The vast, blue-tinted icebergs that drift here are best viewed from the prow of a Zodiac inflatable boat.

This activity is just one of those on offer on Exodus’s family tour to Iceland. Traversing the southern coast, this trip takes in Geysir, Gullfoss, and the Blue Lagoon, as well as the caves of Heiđmörk. Optional activities include whale- watching and horse-riding, and there’s free time in family-friendly Reykavík.

In Travel Tips

f travel, like life, is a journey, not a destination, then as many as one in three travellers are in for a bumpy ride.

That’s because psychologists estimate between one in three and one in five people suffer from aerophobia, or fear of flying. For some, it is a debilitating phobia that can make a nightmare of a dream vacation, especially given the recent reports of eerie plane crashes, increased air turbulence and fewer operational US air control towers.

For others like Julia Cameron, a creativity expert who flies monthly to lead workshops and teach writing classes, it is an unbearable and embarrassing fear that gets in the way of work. But after decades of suffering from the condition, Cameron tackled her fear and wrote Safe Journey: Prayers and Comfort for Frightened Flyers and Other Anxious Souls. Released 18 April, the book details her slightly unorthodox approach to confronting the fear that keeps some would-be travellers homebound.

In addition to dialoguing with yourself in a journal and writing a prayer for each step of the journey, Cameron recommends distraction – especially in the form of trashy magazines – as a tactic for alleviating flight anxiety. According to an interview in the New York Times, she totes about $30 worth of tabloids on board. “There’s something vastly comforting about worrying about celebrities’ cellulite,” she said.

For Cameron, the phobia was related to a lack of control and an anxious mind that spooled out dire scenarios, like engine failure.  In fact, aerophobia, also known as aviatophobia and aviophobia, is a broad condition that is often a combination of related phobias, including claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces), acrophobia (fear of heights) and agoraphobia (fear of having panic attacks in certain spaces out of one’s control).

Unfortunately for those who suffer from aerophobia, the associated fears are many, ranging from a fear of crashing to a fear of turbulence – even a fear of flying at night, or over water. And as unhappy flyers know, it can make trips miserable, with symptoms ranging from anxiety to hyperventilation, even panic attacks or vomiting.

Over time, and with the right combination of cognitive and behavioural therapy, a fear of flying can be cured, according to psychologists who offer treatments at such aerophobia clinics like Boston University’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

"The treatments we have for this are so effective… that upwards of 80%, and sometimes even more people, who get the treatment can fly," psychologist Todd Farchione of Boston University told Fox News.

Traditional treatments often consist of identifying a patient’s fears and the thoughts that lead up to them, then having patients gently confront fears by imagining flying and eventually flying – whether on flight simulators or on actual airplanes.

Psychologists such as Farchione and online resources such as theAnxiety and Depression Association of America and AnxietyUK offer a few other tips to help conquer flying fears:

Education
Books on anxiety and fear of flying can help fearful travellers understand the mental and physical process taking place when a phobia strikes, thereby helping them control anxious reactions. Psychologists even recommend watching videos of planes taking off and landing to help anxious flyers become more comfortable with the process.

Visualize
Just as athletes visualize making the perfect basket or sinking the perfect hole-in-one, those suffering from aerophobia should visualize themselves taking a smooth flight, from arriving at the airport and boarding the plane to fastening their seatbelt and landing safely. Visualizing is a form of practice that helps prepare and soothe people ahead of high-stakes experiences.

Nip negative thoughts
Once on a flight, psychologists recommend stopping negative thought processes immediately by saying the word “stop” to oneself and replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. Focusing on breathing – taking long, deep breaths and slow exhalations – can also help.

Medicate
Finally, for severe phobias, medication may be a good option. Doctors can prescribe anti-anxiety medications to help fearful flyers calm their nerves ahead of a big trip.

Entering Galicia

The tiny cobblestoned village of O Cebreiro crowns the Camino's most difficult and notorious climb. From the town of Herrerias, the route ascends 800m over 10km. It is one of the rare sections in which hikers and cyclists diverge, with hikers following a rugged path and cyclists winding through forest on a narrow road to arrive at O Cebreiro and the Galician border, 1,300m above sea level. From here, kilometre markers tick down the distances to Santiago, 160km away. 

An alternative beginning

To officially qualify as pilgrims, walkers need only hike the final 100km of the Camino into Santiago de Compostela, while cyclists can qualify by pedalling the final 200km. For riders short on time or leg power, this makes the city of Ponferrada, 211km from Santiago, an excellent starting point. The city is notable for its castle, built by the Knights Templar in the 13th Century, to protect pilgrims en route to Santiago.

Cross ways

One of the Camino's enduring traditions is the depositing of stones around the base of the Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross) atop the Montes de Leon mountain range between the towns of Foncebadón and Manjarín. Pilgrims often bring rocks from their homes, carrying them across Spain in backpacks or cycling panniers, and laying them beneath the cross as a symbolic shedding of weight or sin. The small cross, which sits atop a tall wooden pole, has become one of the pilgrimage’s most recognisable images. (

Detours

Hikers face four or five tough weeks of walking on the Camino, but cycling can take as little as seven days, which grants the freedom to explore beyond the paths that make up the Camino's passage. Here, a cyclist pedals along the quiet cobblestoned streets of Castrillo de los Polvazares, a 17th-century town just a couple of kilometres from the trail near the town of Astorga.

Leon’s light

Midway along the route, the city of Leon is a welcome rest stop after the testing and often tedious 175km stretch across the barren meseta from Burgos. Leon's centrepiece is its 13th-century Gothic cathedral, sometimes called the House of Light because of its 128 stained glass windows. Covering almost 1,800sqm, the cathedral's interior is cast in a kaleidoscope of colour

Wheels and wine

Statistics from Santiago’s pilgrim office suggest that up to 20% of all Camino pilgrimages are now made by cyclists. The rugged trails require a mountain bike, but it is a varied journey taking in northern Spain's high, dry meseta (plateau), the vibrant greenery of Galicia and – across its early stages – the famed wine region of La Rioja (pictured). In the town of Irache, one fountain gives pilgrims the option, in the true biblical tradition, of filling their drinking bottles with either water or wine

Spain Biking Hiking

Sign of the times

For centuries pilgrims have been walking across Spain, stepping out an 800km journey from the Pyrenean hamlet of Roncesvalles to the west coast city of Santiago de Compostela, where the bones of the apostle James are interred in the Santiago Cathedral. The Camino de Santiago is arguably the world's most famous Christian pilgrimage, attracting about 180,000 visitors a year, but it is not limited to walkers; Camino regulations also permit the journey to be made by bicycle. (Andrew Bain)

Paris’ Atelier de l’Eclair is turning the classic eclair on its head, creating both savoury and sweet versions. (Kim Laidlaw)

The eclair – a tube of choux pastry filled with flavoured cream – is a French patisserie staple. But over the last couple of years, the macaroon, the cupcake and even cream puffs have each had their turn as the sugary trend of the moment. Now, with two new bakeries specialising in the oblong pastry, it seems time for the trusty eclair to shine.

The Atelier de l’Eclair, opened in November 2012, is a bakery and cafe in the 2nd arrondissement that’s turning the classic eclair on its head. Here you can sample a meal composed entirely of eclairs; start off with the mini savoury versions, stuffed with smoked salmon and dill or foie gras and fig jam, move on to a full-sized main course “club” eclair, featuring fillings such as ham and cheese, and finish your meal with a sweet version in either a classic (vanilla, coffee) or new (lemon meringue, mango and passion fruit) flavour.

Over in the Marais neighbourhood in the 4th arrondissement, Éclair de Génie, opened by revered baker Christophe Adam in December 2012, also specialises in the pastry. Traditional flavours are revisited to create superlative versions of the classic pastry, all made in the shop’s on-site kitchen. Try a vanilla eclair garnished with caramelised pecans or the incarnation with a salted caramel mascarpone filling. There are also more innovative versions, with lemon yuzu (a citrus fruit), chocolate, raspberry or black forest flavours. The beautifully decorated pastries have already proved to be such a success that a second shop – featuring a tea room – is scheduled to open in June, not far from the Eiffel Tower in 16th arrondissement.

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Gay and lesbian travelers spend an average of nearly 60 percent more on their travels than their straight counterparts.

That’s one of the biggest findings out of a US survey by Community Marketing Inc. which specializes in the gay and lesbian consumer market. The results were released by travel trade show ITB Berlin.

After polling 5,700 respondents across the US last year, the survey found that gay and lesbian hotel guests spend an average of 57 percent more during their vacation than their heterosexual counterparts.

Part of the reasons offered by the market research group include the “plain” fact that gay men and lesbians travel more, own more homes and cars, spend more on electronics and have the largest amount of disposable income of any niche market.

Other findings out of the wide-sweeping survey include:

-For 40 percent of gay and lesbian travelers, a destination’s degree of gay-friendliness was identified as the main influence when planning their vacation.

-Warm weather was also the priority for 66 percent of gay men and 67 percent of lesbians; other considerations include cultural attractions, beaches and cuisine.

-Relaxation was the main goal for 50 percent of of gay respondents, while 32 percent of lesbians said spending time with their partner was their aim.

-When it comes to choosing a hotel, for 33 percent of gay and 30 percent of lesbian interviewees said the location of their hotel significantly influenced their decision, followed by price.

Meanwhile, another demographic identified as a major driving force in the international tourism industry is affluent Muslim travelers with money to spend, a market estimated to be twice the size of China’s.

vs/cm

Two naked seductresses separated by three centuries of history went face to face for the first time in Venice on Wednesday in an exhibition devoted to French painter Edouard Manet with his "Olympia" alongside Titian's "Venus of Urbino".

Manet completed his painting of a prostitute being waited on by a black maid in 1863 -- a controversial masterpiece which caused a stir at the time but was largely inspired by old master Titian's own ground-breaking work from 1538.

"Olympia" usually hangs in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the painting has never left France. It was driven to Italy for the show and then ferried across the Venice lagoon to St Mark's Square on a barge to be exhibited in the Ducal Palace.

The works were "scandalous" in their times, said Guy Cogeval, head of the Musee d'Orsay.

And they still have the capacity to shock.

"Olympia" was not used in publicity posters because of local sensitivities in Venice.

"I didn't want to put 'Olympia' next to St Mark's Basilica, out of respect," said Gabriella Belli, director of Venice's museums and a co-curator of the show together with the Musee d'Orsay.

The exhibition entitled: "Manet: The Return to Venice" is organised by the city in conjunction with the Musee d'Orsay and features 23 paintings and 20 sketches by the French painter (1832-1883).

They are hung alongside 80 works by Italian Old Masters including Carpaccio, Guardi and Lotto -- a way of underlining Manet's Italian inspiration, which is only now being fully appreciated.

"Italy was a fertile, stable and permanent inspiration for Manet's genius," said Stephane Guegan, a consultant for the show.

"It was impossible to say this for a long time since his influence by Spain is always put forward," Guegan said.

The exhibition lasts until August 18.

During a trip to Florence in 1857, Manet painted a reproduction of Titian's "Venus of Urbino" -- which still hangs today in the Uffizi Gallery.

Bringing the Titian to Venice "required the help of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius", Belli said.

She said the loans of "Olympia" and the "Venus of Urbino" from their respective museums were linked.

"One would not have come without the other."

Cogeval said that to avoid controversy on the departure of "Olympia" from France for the first time he "got permission from French President Francois Hollande" -- even though an authorisation from the culture ministry would have sufficed.

The moment the painting was lifted with a crane from a barge moored at St Mark's Square was particularly stressful, said Jean Naudin, in charge of international exhibitions at the Musee d'Orsay.

Belli said she appreciated "Olympia" -- "a modern woman, petite but full of energy and character".

But Cogeval said he had been "overcome" by Titian's work.

"It is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world," he said.

Guegan said the "Venus of Urbino", which was commissioned by the duke of Urbino following his marriage, had more than a purely aesthetic intent.

"The painting was meant for the bedroom and was intended as a stimulation for the couple," he said.

A museum dedicated to painter Mark Rothko opened in his Latvian hometown Wednesday, a century after the abstract artist left and found fame and fortune in the United States.

"It's a wonderful homecoming for my father," the late artist's son, Christopher Rothko, told AFP at the opening in Daugavpils, Latvia's second largest city.

"But it's also very exciting that this is a living art centre that will promote new art from the region."

Mark Rothko was born Marcus Rothkovitz in 1903 in the southern city -- then known as Dvinsk and in the Russian empire -- but his family fled a decade later fearing rising anti-Jewish sentiment.

"He is so much identified as an American artist, and his American experience was very important as well, but his roots were here and I'm sure it had a major part in his formation," his 48-year-old son said.

Daughter Kate Rothko Prizel, 62, meanwhile recalled how the painter "would sit down with me with a map and point out where he was from and why you could no longer see Dvinsk on a map."

Rothko, who died in 1970, became a giant of the modern art world through his characteristic style -- a seemingly simple, but arresting juxtaposition of blocks of colour.

Last year, a large-scale painting of his fetched $86.9 million (66.8 million euros) at a New York auction, setting a record for any contemporary work of art.

That canvas -- "Orange, Red, Yellow" from 1961 -- bears some resemblance to one of the six original works that make up the centrepiece of the museum collection, all owned by the Rothko family.

The powerful "Untitled No 7 (Orange and Chocolate)" from 1957 features Rothko's characteristic fields of intense colour and inspired the museum's logo.

The Mark Rothko Art Centre, which also contains lecture rooms and spaces for artists to work on their craft and to exhibit, is housed in part of a giant Tsarist-era fort complex that was renovated at a cost of around four million euros, mostly funded by the European Union.

The European Commission's Latvian representative, Inna Steinbuka, said the centre "could drive not only tourism but also investment into the region and inspire the improvement of infrastructure."

Masterpieces by Vincent van Gogh, including his world-famous "Sunflowers" and "The Potato Eaters", have been returned to the Amsterdam museum that bears the Dutch artist's name ahead of its reopening next week.

The paintings were transferred on Friday to the Van Gogh Museum from another of the Dutch capital's famous museums, the Hermitage, where they had been on display for the last seven months during the renovations.

"From today, Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Irises, Cornfield with Crows and The Potato Eaters are back," the Museum said in a release.

"These and other top pieces are on show during the anniversary exhibition of 'Van Gogh at work' marking the reopening of the museum on May 1," it said.

The Van Gogh Museum is located on Amsterdam's historic Museumplein where many other Dutch art treasures like Rembrandt's "Night Watch" can also be found at the recently reopened Rijksmuseum.

It closed its doors for renovations in September last year and some 75 of Van Gogh's works moved to the Hermitage, where they attracted some 665,000 visitors.

When the museum reopens next week, visitors will be treated to a unique display based on eight years of research and loans from other museums. For instance the Van Gogh Museum's version of "Sunflowers" will be hung next to another from the same series on loan from London's National Gallery.

"The exhibition also enables visitors to find out for themselves how Vincent van Gogh worked, by using microscopes and touch screens for example," museum director Axel Rueger said.

The Van Gogh Museum is the last of Amsterdam's three major museums to reopen its doors after extensive refurbishments, underlining the Dutch capital's status as a top art destination.

Earlier this month Dutch Queen Beatrix reopened the Rijksmuseum to fanfare and fireworks after a decade of refurbishment, while the Stedelijk modern art Museum reopened late last year after a nine-year renovation.

DESTINATIONS

City	Quality
Amsterdam	Good [32]
Berlin	Moderate [58]
Brussels	Good [47]
Krakow	Poor [85]
Oslo	N/A
Prague	Good [35]
London	Very good [10]
Madrid	Good [28]
Paris	Moderate [56]
Stockholm	Very good [19]
Zurich	Very good [24]

Legend

Air Quality
Very low 'Very good'	0/25
Low 'Good'	25/50
Medium 'Moderate'	50/75
High 'Poor'	75/100
Very high 'Very poor'	>100
N/A	N/A

Data: 

The above data was collected from http://www.airqualitynow.eu, an interactive webservice designed to display and compare air quality and developed as part of the European Union's ‘Common Information To European Air' (CITEAIR) project.

The data is taken from the ‘general background air quality index' and represents the minimum level of air quality experienced by a citizen in each of the above cities, the data represents an hourly index and is subject to change throughout  the day.

The indices have five levels from ‘Very low' to ‘Very high' and are based upon the quantity of three major pollutants PM10, NO2, O3 and where data is available, will also take into account pollutants CO, PM2.5 and SO2. These pollutants are of major concern throughout Europe due to their various detrimental effects on health.

Particulate Matter (PM10) particles are small enough to penetrate deep into a person's lungs and as such pose a significant health risk, these particles are most commonly attributed to road traffic emissions and in particular diesel vehicles.  NO2 refers to nitrogen dioxide and is detrimental to the bronchial system. Ground level Ozone (03) is, unlike other pollutants listed above, not emitted directly into the atmosphere but rather is a secondary pollutant formed by reaction between Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), hydrocarbons and sunlight.

DESTINATIONS

City	Quality
Amsterdam	Good [31]
Berlin	Good [41]
Brussels	Good [41]
Krakow	Moderate [68]
Oslo	N/A
Prague	Good [45]
London	Good [30]
Madrid	Moderate [51]
Paris	Poor [80]
Stockholm	Very good [18]
Zurich	Very good [20]

Legend

Air Quality
Very low 'Very good'	0/25
Low 'Good'	25/50
Medium 'Moderate'	50/75
High 'Poor'	75/100
Very high 'Very poor'	>100
N/A	N/A

Data: 

The above data was collected from http://www.airqualitynow.eu, an interactive webservice designed to display and compare air quality and developed as part of the European Union's ‘Common Information To European Air' (CITEAIR) project.

The data is taken from the ‘general background air quality index' and represents the minimum level of air quality experienced by a citizen in each of the above cities, the data represents an hourly index and is subject to change throughout  the day.

The indices have five levels from ‘Very low' to ‘Very high' and are based upon the quantity of three major pollutants PM10, NO2, O3 and where data is available, will also take into account pollutants CO, PM2.5 and SO2. These pollutants are of major concern throughout Europe due to their various detrimental effects on health.

Particulate Matter (PM10) particles are small enough to penetrate deep into a person's lungs and as such pose a significant health risk, these particles are most commonly attributed to road traffic emissions and in particular diesel vehicles.  NO2 refers to nitrogen dioxide and is detrimental to the bronchial system. Ground level Ozone (03) is, unlike other pollutants listed above, not emitted directly into the atmosphere but rather is a secondary pollutant formed by reaction between Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), hydrocarbons and sunlight.

Reina’s main competition on the Golden Mile, Sortie is popular with glamorous girls and international playboys

Overlooking the Bosphorus and open until four in the morning, Sortie is another club that comes into its own during the summer months.

The party doesn’t kick into gear until post-midnight, so some prefer to enjoy dinner in Sortie’s restaurant before hitting the dance floor.

Sortie, 54 Muallim Naci Street, Kurucesme; +90 212 327 8585

Babylon seats 300. There's room for 100 more if it’s a standing affair.

A purpose-built performance space and live music venue, Babylon’s events lineup is always packed with eclectic musical acts, ranging from jazz and reggae to rock, indie and electronica.

The "Babylon Unplugged" LP is testament to the caliber of musicians the club attracts, featuring artists such as James Walsh, Ed Harcourt and Nouvelle Vague.

Former visiting artists include Patti Smith and Stereolab. Entrance is free, but you have to buy tickets to concerts.

Babylon, 3 Şehbender Sokak, Beyoglu; +90 212 292 7368

Those in search of the full Suada experience reserve a table in the restaurant before hitting the club for drinks.

Reached by ferry or private yacht, Suada, with its Olympic-sized swimming pool, is a sun worshipper’s hot spot during the long summer days.

At night it really comes to life. Located on an island in the middle of the Bosphorus, Suada’s club is housed in a glass dome and is one of the most interesting places to party in the city.

Suada Club, Galatasaray Adasi, Kurucesme Park, Besiktas; +90 212 263 7300

Open since 2001, Anjelique is an Istanbul nightlife favorite among local celebs

Angelique takes its tunes seriously.

It's attracted big name DJs, such as Boy George, David Morales and Timo Maas, and has produced six LP "Sounds of Anjelique" volumes.

If you're looking for a full night out, we recommend making a dinner reservation at the restaurant in the same building -- a three-story mansion on the Bosphorus in Ortakoy -- before making your way up to the top floor of the building for cocktails in Anjelique’s mirrored club.

Anjelique,5 Salhane Sokak, Ortakoy; +90 212 327 2844

Turkey's largest city has a scene as vibrant as any in Europe, Asia or North America. Here's how to find the best of it

Istanbul nightlife has earned a reputation as a scene where revelers, whatever their entertainment poison, are spoiled for choice.

Super-clubs beside the Bosphorus, back street jazz bars, a live music venue that has played host to the likes of Patti Smith, Marianne Faithful and Stereolab –- Istanbul has them all and more.

With a capacity of 120, fabulous acoustics and a location in trendy Galata, Nardis is the real jazz deal.

Named after a track by the king of cool, Miles Davis, Nardis is where Istanbul jazz fans hang.

Run by Turkish jazz guitarist Önder Focan and his wife, the venue, with its exposed brick walls and dim lighting, welcomes mainly local musicians onto its small stage six nights a week (it’s closed Sundays), with an international artist making an appearance around once a month.

Nardis Jazz, 14 Kuledibi Sokak, Galata; +90 212 244 6327

Tierra Ideas crafts luggage, lap top cases and wallets from Delta Airlines' old seat covers.

 Running an airline creates an astonishing amount of waste. Food,

fuel, and the millions of tons of waste from worn carpets, uniforms and seat cushions adds up.

Fortunately, many have started to get creative with recycling, turning their used goods into bags, quilts, shoes, carpets, and in one instance, a wedding dress.

What passengers don't see when they board a plane is that many components have a shelf life. Life vests, for instance, are only good for six years before they need replacing. Even the seats have an expiration date.

"After so many dry cleanings, seat covergs lose its fire retardant coating, so by FAA rules, they can't remain on the plane," explains Matt Mahler, founder of Tierra Ideas, an design label that's teamed with Delta Airlines to create bags and wallets from the carrier's old seat covers and curtains. Since partnering with Mahler in 2010, the airline has recycled 7,973 pounds of textiles.othing generates as much potential rubbish as a merger or logo change however. In those instances, any material bearing the old emblem or company colors needs to be scrapped to make way for the new.

Airline uniforms

When KLM changed their uniforms 18 months ago, they had tons of useless fabric on their hands. They decided to give it to Desso Aviation, a carpet company with a zero-waste, 100% biodegradable approach known as "cradle-to-cradle".

Desso wove the uniforms into carpets, which were kitted out on the new World Business Class cabin on KLM's Boeing 747-400 fleet, this July.

Usually, Desso likes to know the background of products, because it affects how the materials will be used going forward. Nylon carpets, for instance, can be recycled, and turned into new carpets.

When a wool carpet surpasses its utility, it gets turned into secondary fuel for the cement industry, and the leftover chalk gets used for backing carpet tiles. Delta disposes its carpets in a similar way, saving 340 tons of materials from the dumpster.

Finnair has a more do-gooder approach. Old uniforms get sent to clean up oil spills, blankets are shipped to refugee camps in Myanmar and airline seats get fashioned into passenger seats in Finnish Red Cross emergency vehicles. Finnair also donates clothing and furniture to workshops for special needs individuals.

"We don't need to make a new business opportunity for ourselves; we're not in the recycling business and don't want to go into it," says Kati Ihamäki, Finnair's vice president for sustainable development. "Instead, we'd rather help others find and create new opportunities from our old products,"

Finnair also collaborates with design label Global Hope, which also creates bags from their old uniforms. The carrier also sponsors competitions with local clothing and furniture designers, pushing them to create goods from their discards. Recently, the winner in a Finnish wedding design competition used KLM uniforms to create her couture gown.

Report: Airline recycling in 'sorry state'

When we launch a new product, we always ask, 'what is the life cycle of this product and what will we do with it at the end of its life?
Sophi Virapin, Air France

However, Air France-KLM currently lead the pack in terms of their environmental efforts (the company has topped the Dow Jones Sustainability Index four years running).

Sophie Virapin, Air France's vice president of sustainable development, estimates 80% of their on-board material is recycled and reused. In December, the airline teamed with upcycling design label Bilum to create bags from old billboard posters and life jackets. The life jacket cases, which retailed for $31, have already sold out.

"Of our projects, the bags were fun and sexy for customers and the media, but they were just one little action," says Virapin, who is eager to point out the many less enticing ways Air France has cut back on waste.

Plastic meal trays are repurposed to create plastic cutlery, the cables from seat backs are refashioned into headphones and retired aircraft are combed for reusable parts, which either get reborn in newer planes or passed on to General Electric.

"When we launch a new product, we always ask, 'what is the life cycle of this product and what will we do with it at the end of its life?'" says Virapin.