We offer you a “different summer”! Destinations ‒ Tel Aviv, Beirut, Lyon!

Let me interrupt your dream of wearing a swimsuit, holding a cocktail under the palm shade during your holiday on the beach with an offer to get acquainted with the summer life of three interesting cities.

Summer, sea, seafood and tan… No, dear, just imagining, browsing and finding, and I’ve done everything for you. Three cities that will provide you with meaningful rest, save you from boredom and heat.

You want to keep up with your colleagues in the best tan, but at the same time you need more than golden sand this summer? Let’s go to Tel Aviv. 

You are fond of music, dancing, cinema and a rest filled with cultural activities in general? I have got a good option for you: we’re going to Beirut. 

Have you decided to keep your natural skin color this summer, to see something new, to fall in love and wander along the streets of an unfamiliar city? Dear, we must go to Lyon. 

 

Direction one: Tel Aviv (Israel)

Is the Mediterranean Sea calling you? It’s great, but it has nowhere to hurry, even more ‒ it may be at your disposal all the year round. As for the festivals, you may miss them and regret after.

The weather is wonderful here: temperatures range between 23 and 30 degrees and the streets themselves persuade you to become a part of a great event. Visiting here, you will surely store a lot of memories. Besides the amazing places of interest and historical places, you should also pay attention to the cultural events. Tel Aviv welcomes jazz legends from different parts of the world in June: one of the music lovers’ favorite events ‒ the New Orleans Jazz Festival is being held here. You have a chance to enjoy jazz outside the halls too walking right in the streets of the “white city”. In June‒July the Golden Mask Theatre Festival takes place in Tel Aviv, during which it welcomes those performances and actors that have been the most discussed during the whole year. Thus, in the streets of the lunar-calendar-driven Israel, particularly in Tel Aviv, you’ll find real cultural fireworks, which should not be missed.

If you’ve left to Tel Aviv in summer, just underline these words and pay a visit to one of the historical parts of the city, Old Jaffa, by all means. Here it is hard to differentiate between day and night because of its hustle and bustle in summer. It’s the best place to have a nice walk and pass through different epochs: on every step you’ll find buildings and monuments that summarize the history of ages. But please pay attention to the lighting in this part of the city because there’s no better place to see the pure whiteness of the city. Besides, the summer night in Tel Aviv is exactly as white as its “white” nickname. Only the aesthetic pleasure one will have here is enough to visit Tel Aviv for a few days in summer.

Air company ''Armenia'' offers three flights per week in this direction on Monday, Thursday and Sunday.

Warning: in this hospitable city the locals may get nervous by the excessive noisy behavior of the tourists. It’s preferable to keep a little bit restrained and silent in public places.

 

 

Direction two: Beirut (Lebanon)

The sleepless city opens its doors to tourists. Besides the festivals, in summer you may become a part of one of the local holidays that has deep historical roots. The holiday is devoted to the summer solstice and is held on the day when the sun changes its position: on 21st of June. This is a real celebration with no limits and is held not only in the central streets of Beirut but also in its suburbs.  To take part in this holiday you need neither a pre-booking, nor money unless you are a candyfloss lover. The holiday has a French origin and is called Fête de la Musique. In different places the passers-by enjoy not only the performances of the local musical groups and singers but also that of the guests from France and a world-famous special guest. Can you imagine what an amazing time you will have! 

But then again, as the commercials mention, that is not all. There’s one more festival that makes the city a real fairytale for its tourists ‒ the Beirut Cultural Festivals. On that days the Hippodrome du Parc de Beyrouth appears in the center of everybody’s attention: it turns into a picture from the most magnificent animation cartoons of Disney. You can go there with children: they’ll enjoy the light show, then buy an ice-cream and enjoy the audio-visual show yourself. This festival takes place thorough the whole June.

One more festival and your phone will run out of space for new photos. It’s the Afkart arts festival. Artists, designers and street artists gather here and present their interesting works at the open air exhibition.

One may only dream of having such a rest full of entertainment. Considering also the national cuisine and sweets, you will have a complete pleasure.

Air company ''Armenia'' offers flights in this direction twice a week: on Monday and Friday.

Warning: you may insult the affable locals by a sudden active gesture. Here great importance is attached to gestures. To avoid inconvenient situations, control your movements in public places. 

 

Direction three: Lyon (France)

Lyon is one of the cities where you should have walks, long walks, very long walks… and do it in summer.  You’ll hardly complain about the weather: the temperature here is stable, from 24 to 25 degrees in summer. There’re evening walks and festivals: take warm clothes not to complain that I haven’t warned you. Thus, everything is ready for the long walks. The Les Nuits de Fourvière festival begins in summer. It’s a romantic books event that has taken place for decades in the ancient theatre of the city. It’s not hard to guess that it’s a cultural event. Just take a small amount of money for some little things, because the entrance is usually free, otherwise it is worth buying a ticket. But if you’ve followed my advice and brought little money, no worries, you’ll need to wait a little and take a chance to see the performances right in the streets of the artistic city.

The cultural mood will continue in the morning as the comics festival is also held in Lyon in June. That’s not a secret that the French are very fond of this genre. The festival is called Lyon BD. It’s a real celebration not only for the locals, but also for tourists, many of which decide to arrive in Lyon from the city of love and enjoy the comics from different parts of the world.  This event is so great that is being held in different squares and parks of the city. So, dear, you’ll surely have a meaningful walk.

Lyon is interesting with its pastel colors, calm atmosphere and refreshing cool air. 

Air company ''Armenia'' offers three flights per week in this direction on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Warning: You’ll see a lot of things worth capturing, but in any case if you’re taking a photo of one of the architectural buildings with a citizen in your shot, warn him/her by all means to avoid problems.

P.S. These three attractive cities will provide you with the memories that you’ll remember as the “different summer”.

Author: Zara Ghazaryan