HONEYMOON HEAVEN
PLANNING ON TYING THE KNOT SOON? MATT NEWBURY TURNS HONEYMOON PLANNER AND COMES UP WITH SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS OF WHERE TO SPEND YOUR FIRST WEEK OR TWO AS NEWLYWEDS ( AND NO, GETTING OFF YOUR FACE CLUBBING IN IBIZA OR BERLIN ISN’T ON THE LIST...)
The hottest destinations for your first trip as newlyweds
Once you got the stress of the big day itself out of the way and your drunken waving friends and families have disappeared into the distance, it’s time to enjoy some quality time together. Honeymoons are a great invention, dating back to the Belle Époque, when they became the first example of mass tourism and were aimed at giving couples the chance to celebrate their marriage in intimacy and seclusion. Chances are these days it won’t be the first time you have shared a bed together, but it’s certainly a great opportunity to share some great new experiences and forget about the credit card bills from your wedding building up on the doorstep back at home.
BURGH ISLAND, BIGBURY- ON-SEA, SOUTH DEVON
The charming tidal island, a stone’s skip away from the small Devonshire seaside village of Bigbury-on- Sea, oozes romance and mystery. Cut off by the tide twice a day, the island is dominated by the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel, boasting an impressive guest list including Winston Churchill, Amy Johnson, Edward and Wallis, and Noël Coward, who came for three nights and stayed three weeks. Perhaps the most famous guest of all was Dame Agatha Christie, who used the island as the inspirational setting for two of her most popular books, Evil Under The Sun, and the oft renamed And Then There Were None. The island can either be reached by foot at low tide, or by the historic sea tractor, an adventure in itself. Readers of The Good Hotel Guide voted Burgh Island the most romantic hotel in Britain while throw in incredibly gayfriendly staff and owners and this could make the most glamorous start to the rest of your life.
Go to: burghisland. com
FLORENCE, VENICE AND ROME, ITALY
The word romantic originally means “from or about Rome” and with incredible architecture, culture and food, Italy remains one of the most romantic places in the world. Wedding-gay.com have created a wonderful week-long package with you arriving by water taxi to your hotel in Venice so you can feel like George Clooney. You’ll have two nights in this remarkable city including private sightseeing to the Doge’s Palace and a gondola ride with glasses of prosecco. It’s then a first class train to Florence for another two nights and private sightseeing including Uffizi Gallery (uffizzi.org) and a full day VIP excursion to the Chianti Vineyards (chianti.com). The amazing honeymoon finishes with three nights in the eternal city of Rome where your itinerary includes the Vatican Museum (museivaticani.va) (see if you can persuade the Pope to bless your union…) or the Borghese Gallery (galleriaborghese.it). Don’t forget to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return to this fascinating city. Travel to Italy isn’t included in the package but if you really want to splash out you could begin the adventure arriving in Venice on the Orient Express from London…
Go to: wedding- gay. com
“Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel, boasting an impressive guest list including Winston Churchill, Amy Johnson, Edward and Wallis, and Noel Coward”
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
The Mother City is not only the most gayfriendly in Africa, but also one of the bestlooking and fun places we could imagine spending a honeymoon. Either book into an apartment or guest house in De Waterkant Village if you fancy being in the heart of the gay action, or something a bit more glamorous like the Table Bay Hotel on Victoria and Albert Waterfront, opened by Nelson Mandela in 1997 (suninternational.com/tablebay) or the Ambassador Hotel (ambassador-hotel.co.za) in Bantry Bay. The city is packed with things to do from a boat trip to Robben Island (robbenisland.org.za) to a cable car to the breath-taking summit of Table Mountain, if you can pull yourselves away from all the eateries offering sumptuous food at reasonable prices. The city also makes a great base for a variety of day trips including the wine-producing regions of Franschoek and Stellenbosch with their beautiful Cape Dutch architecture and fertile landscapes. Another unmissable day trip takes you down the Cape Peninsula past exquisite white beaches, charming fishing villages and along the spectacular Chapman’s Peak Drive to the Cape of Good Hope Nature reserve. You can even visit the famous penguins at Boulders Beach on your way back. Finally there can be very few things more romantic than enjoying a sundowner with that special someone in trendy Camps Bay, before some upscale beachfront dining.
Go to: gaycapetown4u.com
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
Iceland would make a wonderful honeymoon destination, especially if you are the sort of couple who would be bored senseless on a beach holiday. Reykjavik itself is a great city to explore, packed with vintage stores and boutique hotels which also house the trendiest of bars and restaurants. However it’s the natural environment of this volcanic island you’ll want to explore and the Golden Circle Tour is the most popular way of seeing the most spectacular sighs. Highlights include the Strokkur geyser that shoots a column of water 30 metres into the air, the remarkable Gullfoss Waterfall and the. Thingvellir National Park (thingvellir.is). Another great way of exploring the volcanic terrain is on horseback, while whale tours could provide you with one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life. After all that sightseeing, you and your spouse will need a bit of relaxation, so head on over to the world famous Blue Lagoon (bluelagoon. com). Floating through the mists of the mineral-enriched waters with that special someone could only be topped by spotting the Northern Lights while hand in hand.
Go to: gayice.is
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
Perhaps not the most obvious of honeymoon destinations, but if you are looking for some fairytale romance at a dream price this could be the place for you. Think enchanted castles on the banks of Alpine lakes or charming log cabins tucked away in pine forests, with plenty of heritage and scenery waiting to be uncovered. The capital city of Ljubljana is one of Europe’s greenest with cars restricted in the centre, leaving the banks of the Ljubljanica River free for pedestrians, cyclists and romantic picnics. Cafés spill out onto the banks in the summer months, while the architecture is ridiculously photogenic – Boroque, Renaissance and Art Nouveau, dominated by an enchanting medieval castle. As well as being a young-feeling city with 64,000 students, it is also very progressive with an active gay rights movement and several large LGBT events each year. Slovenia itself (nestled between Italy, Hungary, Austria and Croatia) also makes a magical place to explore. Top romantic tip – head over to Lake Bled where a tiny baroque chapel sits on its own island in the middle, watched over by a castle on the cliffs above. It may well be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Go to: visitljubljana. com
PARIS, FRANCE
How could we leave out gay Paris, the world capital of romance and a city made for couples? Nothing beats walking to the Pont Neuf, walking down the steps and out to the tip of Ile de la Cité to watch the sunset with a delicious bottle of French wine to share. Or a boat trip at night slipping under bridges down the Seine as the city and Eiffel Tower sparkle around you. What about a morning spent enjoying wonderful views of the city from Montmartre, before strolling back down the hill past artists and pausing in cafés and feeling delightfully bohemian? Or perhaps a picnic in a park with fresh ingredients purchased from the market at Motte-Piquet, just steps away from the Eiffel Tower. You’ll also want to spend some time in the gay neighbourhood of the Marais, packed with trendy shops, eateries, galleries and the sort of endless temptations that only a newly married couple could resist! And our top tip is hunting down the secret Garden of Hopeless Romantics at a townhouse once used by the likes of Delacroix, Chopin and Rossini. Sipping an ice tea (Egyptian-style made with hibiscus flowers and cinnamon) in the glasshouse is the very definition of true love.
Go to: gayparis. com
“Slipping under bridges down the Seine as the city and Eiffel Tower sparkle around you”