Italy

Ventura Spa, which celebrated its 40th anniversary three years ago, is about to write a new page in its history. BCD Travel made it official on 4 February: TMC is buying out its Italian partner, with whom it has had close links since 2006, and creating a new entity, BCD Travel Italy. This new entity will retain...

Milan-Linate is once again ready to welcome passengers for the IATA winter season. The Milan hub, generally favoured by business travellers as it is only 20 minutes from the centre of the Lombardy metropolis, had closed its doors for three months due to the refurbishment of the runway and the modernisation of the...

The 'bleisure' dimension of the Eternal City is certainly not lost on business travellers to the Italian capital. This is the niche that the online platform Weekend in Rome is aiming to fill by offering a different way of discovering the city, beyond the great classics such as the Colosseum, Piazza Navona and the Fountain of...

A new lease of life infused with Italian dolce vita and French art de vivre. The Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese will reopen its doors on 1 July following a major renovation by the much sought-after interior designer Jean-Philippe Nuel. Located near via Veneto, this five-star hotel is housed in a palazzo...

The Belt and Road Initiative was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The BRI provides for the construction of huge infrastructures - mainly land and sea - linking China to the rest of the world, with the aim of improving trade between China and the rest of the world and at the same time consolidating China's influence. In addition to the...

Hyatt is continuing to expand its lifestyle brands in Europe, with Hyatt Centric at the top end of the market and Andaz on the luxury side. Andaz, which set up shop in Munich's Schwabing district last February with a design hotel featuring 277 loft-inspired suites and rooms, has just opened a new hotel in...

The Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese will reopen its doors on 1 July following major renovation work by Jean-Philippe Nuel, in a spirit that blends Italian-style dolce vita with contemporary French art de vivre. Situated in a quiet street in the centre of Rome, close to Via Veneto and...

French professionals used to using self-service electric scooters to get around Paris or Nice will now be able to try their hand at Italian-style driving. Cityscoot made its arrival in Milan official on Friday, where no fewer than 500 electric scooters are already available on a self-service basis. To start with", say the people in charge of the platform, "the...

Last week, the French government announced that it would be issuing a call for tenders in 2020 to allow competition on two railway lines, which will serve as a test: Nantes-Lyon and Nantes-Bordeaux, two minor lines representing a combined passenger traffic of 1.1 to 1.2 million. Rail competition would then begin in 2022,...

On 11 June, Alitalia announced the inauguration of a new lounge. The lounge is located in Pier E at Rome Fiumicino airport and is reserved for extra-Schengen flights. The proximity of this facility to the boarding area simplifies the journey for passengers, who previously had to leave from pier H to access their boarding area....

What is the profile of your business clientele? We cater for both sales staff and blue-collar workers who have travel packages at their disposal, and their bosses who appreciate the quality of our hotels, which are close to the higher categories, but at much lower prices. We have a very good market share in...

The EUR business district - an acronym for Esposizione Universale di Roma - is located to the south of the Eternal City, between the historic centre and Fiumicino airport. Begun in the late 1930s under Mussolini and completed before the 1960 Olympic Games, it is renowned for its modernist architecture. Like many districts...

HOTELS EUR district Sheraton Roma Hotel & Conference Center[tararama ids="73403,73405,73407,73409,73411" auto="true" pause="4000"] Business travellers wishing to stay in the EUR business district can opt for this Sheraton of excellent reputation, whose rooms and suites were recently completely renovated. Shuttle buses to the heart of Rome or to the airport are available...

"Air Italy will offer an international network, quality of service and reliability comparable to that of Qatar Airways. Air Italy will be a new carrier with service standards worthy of our ambitions", promised Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, referring to the Italian carrier in training. The airline will take...

The new Paris CDG - Rome Fiumicino flight will be launched by Vueling on 25 March, operating up to six times a week. The Spanish carrier will then be the only one to offer a low-cost service between the two airports. Already present at Orly, Vueling will be able to attract business customers by offering them a programme of flights...

Luxury boutiques selling perfumes, watches and handbags follow a gourmet restaurant, a master chocolatier and an Italian ice-cream parlour. The crowd is dense, but it wanders just as it would in the shopping arcade of a very upmarket shopping centre. They take their...

GETTING THERE The SNCF offers 20 daily return trips between Paris and Marseille on weekdays and up to 25 at weekends. Internet: www.voyages-sncf.com MSC Croisières: 5, rue Barbès, 92120 Montrouge. Tel: 01 70 74 00 55 Internet: www.msccroisieres.fr WHAT TO DO AT ESCALES? A host of excursions and activities are on offer at...

IDENTITY CARD Formalities: Passport or identity card. Area code: + 39. Best season: All year round. But be warned, the summer heat can be killer and prohibit any activity except the beach. And even then! So opt for the shoulder seasons, when the weather is generally delightful. Group size: Even if there are a few resorts for...

Report Serge Barret; Photos Alain Parinet. When you drive through the Apulian countryside, you'll see that there's no shortage of masseria," says Caroline Groszer, a Swiss-born hotelier who has been based in southern Italy for almost ten years. In the past, they were fortified farms; some against invaders, but more generally against organised gangs. Today, the...

67%: this is the percentage of employees who voted against the proposed turnaround of the national airline Alitalia, in a vote held on Monday. 6,816 of the company's employees voted against and 3,206 in favour of the turnaround plan, which provided for a restructuring of the short/medium-haul network, the departure of 980 ground staff and...