City Break

The recent opening of the Mövenpick Grand Hotel Wroclaw marks a fresh chapter of hospitality for this iconic building, and for the city in which it resides.

Sitting in the world’s largest cider barrel sauna - Mostfassl – with fifty other naked strangers may seem at the very least, alternative. Yet, in Upper Austria, this is just another way to experience one of the region’s most popular products.  

“You look nervous?” stated the doctor’s assistant at AquaCity, as I stood beside the cryotherapy chamber waiting to enter; my answer was unequivocally “yes!”. The resort is one of Slovakia’s premier health and well-being complexes based in Poprad, a city nestled beneath the High Tatras Mountains.

Exclusivity, privacy, active adventure, spending more time outside, safe environments and the constant pursuit of ‘new experiences’ are changing traveller and guest preferences in the wake of COVID-19. At the higher end of the market, the travel industry has seen a rise in private jet travel due to the renewed focus on personal health and hygiene. 

Lausanne, Switzerland is home to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who last year inaugurated a new HQ in their home city, seen as a glistening model of ‘Sustainability and transparency’, as affirmed by IOC president Thomas Bach in his opening speech. This coincided with the committee’s 125th anniversary. The IOC also supports its own museum – TOM – the acronym for ‘The Olympic Museum’ and like the FIFA World Football Museum is one of the best sports museums anywhere in the world.

FIFA supports its own museum, which provides Zurich with one of the most incredible sports museums anywhere in the world. Their exhibitions (permanent and temporary) provide a lasting sporting narrative and legacy for all citizens and creeds. It is also creates a unique events venue that has mass appeal. Ramy Salameh shares his experience of visiting the ‘FIFA World Football Museum’ and his top picks from what he saw: