Only-apartments' blog

ONLY BE AMSTERDAMMER

ONLY BE BUDAPESTER

ONLY BE VENETIAN

ONLY BE BARCELONIAN

ONLY BE BERLINER

ONLY BE VALENCIAN

ONLY BE ISTANBULITE

ONLY BE FLORENTINE

ONLY BE LISBOETA

ONLY BE LONDONER

ONLY BE NEW YORKER

ONLY BE MADRILENIAN

ONLY BE MALAGUEÑO

ONLY BE MILANESE

ONLY BE PARISIAN

ONLY BE PORTUENSE

ONLY BE PRAGUER

ONLY BE ROMAN

ONLY BE SEVILLIAN

ONLY BE PROXIMAMENTE

ONLY BE ATHENIAN

ONLY BE COMING SOON

Last posts

Halloween Customs

Mónica Boixeda New Yorker, Only-Be, Things to do in New York

When one thinks of Halloween, pumpkins, witches, cobwebs and other frightening symbols immediately come to mind. Although the American custom of Halloween has been expanding rapidly in Europe, nothing compares to the energy and excitement of experiencing it on the other side of “the pond”. Photo: drsmith7383 Pumpkin Festival If you travel along the east coast to the state of New Hampshire, more specifically the town of Keene, there’s a very unique Halloween festival: the Pumpkin Festival. As everyone knows, the pumpkin is the symbol of Halloween and many families empty them out, cut eyes and a mouth into them and light them up with a candle to give it a more macabre look, a figure known as a Jack-o´-lantern. In Keene, many of these pumpkins (each more bizarre and terrifying than the other) are joined together to create the largest pumpkin mountain in the world, which has already broken several records Guinness. When the pumpkins are lit, it creates an illuminated castle that is truly spectacular to see in person. Each year, 80,000 people come to Keene, a city whose population is around 20,000 people, to see the festival. Go see it for yourself and, as they say, “Let it shine!” Festival of the Dead A little further north, in the town of Salem, Mass., the Festival of the Dead, a festival commemorating the dead, is celebrated annually. Halloween has a macabre tone, and this festival explores the mysteries of death through events that research the various ways that people honor, celebrate and keep secret contact with the dead. Here you will find psychics and mediums who can... read more

The 10 friendliest cities in the World

Mónica Boixeda Rankings, Travel Tips

Recently, the travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler revealed the findings of a research intended to discover the most comfortable holiday destination in the world. The results are quite unexpected in some cases, because of the absence of some of the most popular holiday destinations. Florianópolis by Fernando Dall´Acqua Let’s start at the 10th place with the city of Chiang Mai – northern Thailand, a city famous for its amazing landscapes and friendly people. On the 9th and 8th place (With the same points) we find the cities of Kilkenny in Ireland and Ubud in Bali, which two different ends of the world but with a common charming: their people and the dominant green landscapes within their territory. Number 7 is found in Southeast Asia, Mandalay – Burma, the second largest city in the country and a great alternative to its hectic capital city Yangon, its wonderful traditions and breathtaking temples are simply magnificent. At number 6 we have Paro – Bhutan and Margaret River – Australia. These two cities could not be more different from each other as Paro is a city built on the side of a mountain and Margaret River is located at a wonderful beach, perfect for surf lovers. The Top five starts in the United States with Charleston – South Carolina, a student city that has sea and the good vibe of the youth and uniqueness of its landscapes. At position number 4 is Queenstown in New Zealand, which counts with impressive landscapes of snowy mountains looking over the bay. At number 3 there is Thimphu, capital city of Buthan, a small lovely... read more

How apartments help you save on a city break

Mónica Boixeda Do you like travelling?, Travel Tips

Everyone wants to travel more, and one of our raisons d’etre is to help make travelling better value for money so that our customers can do just that. We know that our clients are big fans of online tools to help find the cheapest flights to European cities, but how far will your budget go when you’re there? And how much does staying in an apartment really save you, and how does this work out city by city? Photo: Jeff Belmonte To answer these questions, we decided to spend most of August (or so it felt) researching the costs of 16 weekend essentials – such as dinners out, travelcards, a beer in a bar – all over Europe. We compared the costs of self-catering and eating out for every meal – knowing that it’s essential to hit the local bars and restaurants, we factored in eating out for half the lunches and dinners. As it turns out, the difference means a saving of average €92 over just two days – take a look at the infographic to see how that breaks down. As we all know, the best things in London, Paris or Stockholm – just like in life – are free, so the prices we’ve researched have little to do with how much “value” in terms of experiences and memories we get from a destination. Plus there are always other ways to save money – free wifi, museum entry, etc. But reminding ourselves of how well you can live in Lisbon, Porto or Budapest does make us think “hmmmm” and start researching those flights… What about you? Where did you get most... read more