Considering a visit to Dushanbe and wondering where to stay? Dush-where, you ask? Well, Dush is where it’s at. Skopje, Pristina, Astana, Pyongyang, Vaduz, Chisinau – you may remember I’m forever intrigued by the quirky and often lesser-known national capitals of the world. A city of 800 000 people, and formerly named Stalinabad, Dushanbe is the capital […]
The Palmyra Hotel in Baalbek: Wacky, Weird and Wonderful
We don’t write heaps of accommodation reviews here on Sophie’s World. Can’t be just any boring old accoms, you see. It has to be unique, like a lighthouse, say. Or a shipping container. Or an exceptionally beautiful hotel. Or a combination hotel/refuge for asylum seekers/artists’ workshops. Or haunted. Every once in a while, something special […]
The Principal Manchester: a gorgeous space in a gutsy city
You know how you sometimes wander around – or drive around – a city, searching for the hotel you’ve booked, increasingly wanting to put a curse on the annoying SatNav lady for leading you astray yet again? Well, that won’t happen with The Principal Manchester. You simply can’t miss this impressive Baroque building with a […]
Grandhotel Cosmopolis: a concrete utopia
In Augsburg’s old town, Grandhotel Cosmopolis is perhaps the most curious hotel in all of Germany; certainly the most unusual I have seen. This particular Grand hotel, you see, functions not only as a hotel, but also as home for asylum seekers, as artists’ studios, open work-spaces, a venue for concerts, exhibitions and other artistic […]
Qube hotel Heidelberg – a review
On a recent visit in Heidelberg, I stayed at the cool, contemporary Qube Hotel. This award-winning boutique hotel is privately owned and has a particular focus on the environment as well as allergy sufferers. Walls are painted with a special ecofriendly (and allergy-friendly) paint. Natural plaster rather than wallpaper, wooden- and stone floors rather than […]
The Four Seasons Hotel in Baku: Graceful and luxurious
I arrive at the Four Seasons Baku on a scorching day in early July. It is so hot, entering the Beaux-Arts lobby is a relief in itself. Not only is it deliciously cool. It’s also beautiful, with marble floors, glittering chandeliers and a sweeping, grandiose staircase with wrought-iron railings. Comfortable chairs and sofas are scattered […]
The Waterhead: A Boutique Hotel in the English Lake District
Do you keep up with World Heritage? If so, you will have noticed that the English Lake District was just added to the list this month. And deservedly so, in my not-so-humble opinion. We arrive in Ambleside on a lovely April day. I simply plugged Waterhead into the GPS, and after leaving Manchester airport behind, we […]
Welcome! I'm Sophie - writer, dreamer, negotiator, wanderer, mum - in search of the world's curious places. Mostly with my daughters, sometimes solo. The girls share their take on it, too.
- Chasing shadows in Czechia
- A Tale of Two Villas
- Gori: birthplace of the world’s most infamous dictator
- City of Luxembourg: more than money
- An afternoon at the Palazzo Parisio – in which Alexandra becomes insufferably colonial
- Marian’s Guesthouse: An Oasis in Dushanbe
- (Almost) 48 hours in Osh
- Astana
- Baalbek, Anjar and wine: 3 highlights of the Bekaa Valley
- World at a Glance: Petroglyphs in Tamgaly Gorge
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Jonny Blair: A nice article Anne-Sophie and great to see you vi...
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Rahul: Can’t believe I haven’t been before! Thanks fo...
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Katrin: What a bizzare experience to have! Maybe the citiz...
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Anne-Sophie Redisch: Love unusual finds like this plantation. Thanks fo...
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Jeanette Brunet: I was in Edinburgh in August of 2015 for 9 days. W...
