Toulouse, France - France's south-west regional tourism promotion association has drawn up a list of "Grand Sites" containing the names of about 20 towns, villages, historic buildings and art works.
Toulouse, the capital of the Midi-Pyrenees region, is on the list together with the viaduct at Millau, the pilgrimage town of Lourdes and the mountain Pic du Midi. The list will be reviewed and updated at regular intervals in future with a view to making it easier for visitors to this part of France to work out an itinerary.
The plan is to locate terminals at each of the sites on the list where information can be called up on monitors. A selected list of attractions from all eight departments in the Midi-Pyrenees region can be found on the association's website. (www.tourism-midi-pyrenees.co.uk/)
Motoring in the Czech Republic to get more expensive
Prague - Holidaymakers planning to travel through the Czech Republic by car will find the journey more expensive next year with a hike in tolls. The automobile association Auto Club Europa says the price of a one-month toll sticker for a car will cost 350 Crowns (20 dollars) instead of the present 330 Crowns (19 dollars). A one year sticker will rise to 67 dollars. The one-week sticker will be discontinued and a new 10-day sticker introduced for 14 dollars. Holidaymakers with mobile homes will have to pay a truck toll as the new rules will force any vehicle over 3.5 tonnes into that category.
Stuttgart to open traditional Christmas market
Stuttgart - The south-western German city of Stuttgart is preparing to launch the festive season with a Christmas market on November 25 at the Old Castle, Schiller Square and on the Market Place that runs until December 23. Along with the usual Christmas classics of mulled wine and gingerbread there will be plenty of local culinary specialities on offer. The market opens at 10 am and closes at 9 pm, according to Stuttgart's promotion office. (www.stuttgarter-weihnachtsmarkt.de)
Warning of measles outbreak in South Africa
Berlin - The Centre for Travel Medicine in Dusseldorf in western Germany has issued an advisory message encouraging visitors to South Africa to immunise themselves against measles. In September and October 1,355 people feel ill with the disease in South Africa, four of whom died from complications. Three of those fatalities were children. Ninety per cent of cases occurred in the province of Gauten and in the capital Pretoria. Anyone who has already contracted measles is immune from the disease. Infants over the age of two can receive immunisation but adults may also get a booster injection if they feel the need.
Measles appears between eight and 12 days after infection with a large red rash on the body's skin. Other symptoms include fatigue, high temperature and light sensitivity. In contradiction to common opinion measles is not "a harmless child disease," experts warn. Adults often suffer severe ill affects.
