Weekly travel reads: A cruise through history on the Canal du Midi

[The Travel Wire #82] Hiking the Annapurna Circuit, Valencia, Bucharest’s accidental urban wilderness, and more travel reads.

Travel reads

• A cruise through history on the Canal du Midi [The Guardian]
“Designed as a shortcut between the Atlantic and the Med, today the scenic waterway from Toulouse to Sète is seen as a living ‘work of art’.”

• Hiking the Annapurna Circuit made me a mountain person [An Adventurous Life]
“How I fell in the love with the mountains at 17,769 feet.”

• Walking the White Mountains: A 100km journey through Crete’s wartime past [Claire In Crete]

• When strangers in Istanbul threw a surprise party for my friend [Intrepid Times]
“A traveler in Istanbul is left without a place to stay when her friend fails to arrive on time, but she finds herself dropped into a community of strangers, who step in to help her throw him an unforgettable surprise birthday party.”

• Why Valencia is on everyone’s radar [Escape Artist]
“The Spanish city redefining what a better life in Europe looks like.”

• Inside Bucharest’s accidental urban wilderness [Bloomberg]
“In Romania’s capital, a failed communist-era megaproject has become a template for a new generation of “natural parks” that offer room for wildlife and people.”

• The German city that has Berlin teetering on its trendy pedestal [Independent]
“Layla Nicholson swaps the capital for Hamburg and discovers an edgy city, perfect for a solo weekend away.”

• Leaving Liberia [Odyssey And Meaning]
“Musings on the back of a motorbike.”

• The best seat in town [Torched]
“It’s a public bathroom, yes, but it’s really a piece of infrastructure that unlocks access to the city.”

• Looking for Ararat [Postcards from Rowena]
“A 50th birthday on the border of Türkiye and Iran, while marvelling at the twin peaks.”

• A unique clearing in Central Africa draws elephants from the dense forests [Mongabay]

• Re-visiting Granada [Bookish Backpacker]
“Setting aside my rose-tinted glasses for a moment.”

• This metro stop is Ancient Rome’s new attraction (archive) [BBC Travel]