TravelLeisure

The summer season in Reno-Tahoe is heating up with exciting events, plenty of outdoor recreation and loads of fireworks to light up the sky this Fourth of July. So this year, don’t plan another boring barbecue…experience your next adventure in Reno-Tahoe, America’s Adventure Place.

Named one of the largest and most inclusive arts and culture events in the country, the entire month of July plays host to Artown. The 11th annual summer arts festival features 300 performing and visual arts events in dozens of locations citywide, most of which are free to the public, including music, dance, theater, opera, children’s workshops, movies in the park, cowboy poetry, historical walks, visual arts and more. Contact Artown at 775-322-1538 or visit www.renoisartown.com for more information. Read more

This summer, the Fairmont Copley Plaza takes to the streets with its newest guest experience - the Copley Cruiser. The 125th anniversary model of the Custom Deluxe Cruiser bicycle will be available exclusively for guests during their stay. Guests will enjoy the wind in their hair and the sun on their backs as they cruise down some of the most historic streets and parks in Boston.

The Copley Cruiser is a replica of the original bicycle created in 1877 by Columbia Manufacturing of Westfield, Massachusetts. Like the Fairmont Copley Plaza, it offers refined elegance and classic tradition. The Copley Cruiser features a speedometer, clock, coaster brakes, white-walled tires, headlight, up-turned handlebars, luggage rack and even a horn. It is painted a deep rich opalescent blue and ivory and is accented with authentic frame decals from Columbia's original model. Read more

What has 172 holes is over 65,000 yards long and has 621 rooms? It’s the Divine Nine, the Carson City/Valley co-op group of nine area golf courses and five lodging properties that make a golf excursion to Nevada’s capital city area convenient, fun and affordable. Golfers will find a world of diversity with exceptional valley and desert layouts, challenge and personality.

Noted designers, architects and professional golfers are affiliated with the courses including Arnold Palmer at Dayton Valley Country Club, Peter Jacobsen and John Harbottle III at Genoa Lakes Golf Club, and Johnny Miller and John Harbottle at Genoa Lakes Resort (formerly Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch). There’s both high desert and open valley golf with meandering rivers and creeks, sage-brush lined fairways, elevation changes, generous fairways – and tight ones, too, along with the spectacular natural beauty of the area. Read more

LiftPack is the ultimate travel backpack. More than 20,000 backpack-related injuries were treated at hospital emergency rooms in 2005, many of them incurred while traveling. LiftPack alleviates back stress through patented, built-in air bladder technology, making wearers feel as if they are carrying half the weight or less. While wearers of standard backpacks must strain their upper back, shoulders and spinal muscles, the LiftPack makes the weight rest on the top of the wearer's gluteal muscles (rear end), padded with a cushion of air. This allows the wearer to keep normal body posture and spinal alignment and relax comfortably in an upright position rather than being hunched over. Read more

Romance lives in the legendary halls of the Spanish-Italian Renaissance designed, Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, one of the city’s most iconic buildings. Visitors can inject this element of romance and splendor into their vacation with the hotel’s “Romance” package which includes one-bedroom suite accommodation for one night, a welcome gift of chocolate truffles and champagne, full American breakfast for two served in the suite, two complimentary Millennium Biltmore terry-cloth bathrobes and valet parking. Rates for the package begin at $399, excluding tax and gratuity. Available through 2006. For reservations please visit www.millenniumhotels.com or contact 866-866-8086. Read more

Recently named as Citysearch.com’s #1 Most Romantic Hotel, The Bryant Park Hotel is giving its customers a taste of what New York City Romance is all about with its new hotel packages. These packages make The Bryant Park Hotel the perfect weekend getaway for out-of-towners & Manhattan-ites who just need to get away: Read more

An unprecedented partnership between three countries and this year’s most highly anticipated film will encourage more people to visit Britain, France and Scotland. National tourism agency VisitBritain, Scottish tourist board VisitScotland and the French tourist office, Maison de la France, have partnered with Sony Pictures and its global partner, Eurostar – the high-speed rail service. Together they will showcase locations, destinations and attractions associated with the motion picture adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, which will be released worldwide May 19th. Read more

Where was John Lennon born? Where did Paul McCartney grow up? Where did George Harrison live? Where did Ringo Starr practice playing his drums? Beatles fans wanting to discover first-hand the world of the legendary band can now treat themselves to the “Liverpool With the Beatles” tour, courtesy of Club ABC Tours. Starting at $1,399 per person, the 8-day hosted tour takes visitors on a guided, magical mystery trip to all the celebrated Beatles stomping grounds throughout London and Liverpool. An “Early Bird Discount” of $100 per person is offered on all bookings received up to May 15. Read more

After a long day of sightseeing, or even business meetings, in an unfamiliar city, sometimes all you really want to do is sleep. But wait! That nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach is telling you it needs food. And McDonalds is not an option. Rather than wandering through an unfamiliar city, searching for a relatively healthy option, Radisson Hotels and Resorts now provide an easier solution—Tasteful Choices. Developed by chefs at the CIA—the Culinary Institute of America, that is, the 15 breakfast, lunch, and dinner entrees fall into one of four categories: low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, and rich—which means flavorful, not fattening. Read more

Having two gift registries is one of the hottest wedding trends this season - one for traditional gifts and one for the honeymoon. The benefit for couples who use TheBigDay.com honeymoon registry is that they can often afford a more extraordinary honeymoon than they could purchase on their own. Over 20,000 couples have used the registry earning, on average, over $2000 in honeymoon gifts through TheBigDay.com. The record is over $28,000! TheBigDay Travel's registry (TheBigDay.com) is the most popular in the world with couples in 120 countries having used the service. Read more