World Tourism Blog

Overview

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy brought the breathtaking scenery of New Zealand’s countryside into the international spotlight. Combine this scenery with a huge variety of recreational opportunities, and you’ve got an outdoor enthusiast’s ideal vacation destination. Even those without a desire to jump off bridges or roll down a hill in a clear plastic ball will find something to do–New Zealand’s cities offer plenty of opportunities for fine dining, shopping and museum-going. Because a trip to New Zealand can come at great expense, however, it is important to spend plenty of time planning your vacation to ensure that it is as memorable as you hope it to be.

Step 1

Decide what time of year you would like to visit New Zealand. Remember that it is located in the Southern Hemisphere, meaning the seasons are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere–when it is summer in the United States, it is winter in New Zealand. The summer season is the busiest in New Zealand; it is also when the majority of activities are open for tourists. From May to September you will typically find smaller crowds and also are more likely to find good deals on airfare.

Step 2

Determine how much time you have to devote to a trip to New Zealand. The greater amount of time you have to spend, the more you will be able to see. Given the amount of travel time necessary to get to New Zealand, ideally, two weeks is the minimum trip length you should consider. Two weeks will provide adequate time to see a large part of both the North and South Island, although you will have to continually be on the move. For trips shorter than two weeks, plan to focus on just one part of the country rather than trying to see it all.

Step 3

Decide on a rough budget for your trip. Your largest expense is likely to be airfare, followed by lodging, transportation and food. Check the websites of Air New Zealand and Qantas for specials when researching airfares. You may even be able to add an extra stop in Hawaii or Fiji on the front or back end of your trip without paying an additional fee. Remember to also take into account the cost of tours and recreational activities, such as bungee jumping, jet boating, zorbing, skydiving and glacier hiking.

Step 4

Put together an itinerary. The majority of international flights land in Auckland on the North Island. You can opt to start your travels here, or take an immediate flight to Christchurch in the South Island. Highlights of the North Island include Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Rotorua, Taupo and Wellington. Highlights of the South Island include Kaikora, Christchurch, Queenstown, Te Anau, Fjordland National Park, Milford Sound, Mount Cook National Park, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers and the wineries of Marlborough and Hawkes Bay. Adrenaline junkies should plan to spend the majority of their time in the South Island; Queenstown is the epicenter of outdoor recreation.

Step 5

Choose a method of transportation during your travels in New Zealand. Although New Zealand has an efficient bus system, a rental car or camper van will provide you with the greatest amount of independence. For quick travel between locations, flying may be an option, although doing so will cut deeply into your travel budget. Traveling by rail (TranzRail) is also a good option–the TranzScenic rail line cuts through the mountains and provides breathtaking views of the surrounding scenery.

By Susan Berg

Glacier hiking is just one of the many possible activities in New Zealand.

As Greece recovers from the damage caused by street violence, strikes and a massive blow to its reputation on the international stage, surrounding nations are set to steal its tourists, particularly Croatia.
 
It is said that every cloud has a silver lining and the crisis in Greece is proving that this saying is at least half true. The cloud over Greece looks more violent than ever and is stopping Brits, Germans and Italians from visiting the traditional destination. The silver lining has a Croatian flag on it as the Greek unrests pushes tourists in a northerly direction.

This is not to say that Croatia has nothing to offer without being a substitute for a nearby EU country in crisis. The country boasts a general mixture of green and blue as the Adriatic combines with stunning islands such as Hvar and medieval walled cities like Dubrovnik to create breathtaking landscape.

 If it were not for the “Balkan” reputation, there is no reason to believe why the former Yugoslav country should not be more popular. The government relies on at least 10 million visitors per annum. Then the figures of Croatian tourism are very favourable and account for one sixth of the country’s economy.

With the help of Greek crisis, Croatia has experienced a 7% growth in overnight stays this July. Whether these stays are in expensive hotels or tents, it still shows an element of progress. This means every 50th tourist in Europe visited Croatia in July. In Greece, the number of tourists remains almost the same yet spending is significantly down compared to last year. Indeed, tourists in Greece have been spending at least 7% less than in 2009.

By Tourism-Review

CROATIA TO EARN OUT OF GREEK CRISIS

THE anticipation was palpable as French paparazzi and gawkers crowded the red carpet outside the beachfront Grand Hôtel and awaited the arrival of the film festival stars.

With the early evening sun slanting across the sea, teenage autograph hounds squeezed their way to the velvet ropes while a 20-something woman in a T-shirt depicting Woody Allen stood on her tiptoes to see over the rows of heads. Nearby, an elderly man in a pink Lacoste shirt gripped a baguette with such anxious force that he seemed certain to crush it.

For a flashbulb instant, the scene could easily have been mistaken for the Cannes International Film Festival, that two-week, all-eyes-on-it gala held each spring in the resort city in southern France.

But this was the tiny village of Cabourg — located along a stretch of France’s northern coast known as the Côte Fleurie — and the event was the weekend-long Cabourg Romantic Film Festival. Cannes was on the opposite side of the country both geographically and spiritually. Spend a week traveling by car or local bus among the seaside villages that dot the 25 miles of craggy, wind-swept coast — Cabourg, Houlgate, Villiers-Sur-Mer, Deauville, Trouville, Cricqueboeuf and Honfleur — and the differences soon become obvious.

Sure, the Côte Fleurie serves up film festivals (the Deauville American Film Festival in September is second only to Cannes), expansive beaches (particularly the golden sands of Deauville and Trouville), seafood-laden local cuisine (with excellent new spots in the port of Honfleur), artistic history (Monet and other Impressionists painted here), celebrity residences (the Rothschilds, Gérard Depardieu and Yves Saint Laurent are among current and former homeowners) and all-night casinos (place your bets in Cabourg and Deauville).

But unlike its southern sibling, it does so without fanfare. Mega-yachts with helipads are rare, the Lamborghini-per-capita ratio wows almost nobody, and local Calvados apple liqueur (made in the region’s famous orchards) finds far more favor than Cristal Champagne.

Better still, at only two hours from Paris by car or train, the Côte Fleurie doesn’t require a private jet to reach it. If the Côte d’Azur finds its American counterpart in glammy spots like Miami or Malibu, the Côte Fleurie is more the overseas analogue of Newport or Martha’s Vineyard.

“Here, the people don’t come to be seen,” said Sylvain Choblet, general manager of Les Manoirs de Tourgéville, a new luxury hotel close to Deauville. Owned by the Groupe Floirat, known for Côte d’Azur hot spots like the Hôtel Byblos in St.-Tropez, the new forest hideaway of half-timbered pavilions is the group’s first foray into northern France and its most unostentatious project. “It’s much more intimate,” Mr. Choblet said. “People come here to be tranquil, to rest, to rejuvenate.”

The area’s cultural heart is Honfleur, “a ravishing port full of masts and sails, crowned with green hills and surrounded by narrow houses,” as Victor Hugo put it in the 19th century. Like other Côte Fleurie towns, Honfleur was a fishing village that began to flourish as a cosmopolitan getaway with the arrival of the railroad link to Paris in the 1860s.

On a Sunday afternoon in June, throngs of French travelers filled the town’s spider web of cobbled streets, ambling past town houses — some in red brick, some in gray stone, some with shingle facades — that sported copper lanterns or wooden signs advertising candle and soap stores. Seagulls circled overhead, their cries mingling with the sound of church bells.

Almost every lane in Honfleur seems to turn up some romantic hideaway or hole-in-the-wall. Slip down the Rue des Capucins and you discover La Maison de Lucie, a rustic-chic boutique hotel whose protected garden courtyard and large drawing-room fireplace lend themselves perfectly to cocooning.

At Place Hamelin, two excellent restaurants have sprouted. Under the wooden beams of Entre Terre et Mer, fish are prepared with occasional Asian ingredients. Opposite, in the minimalist white dining room of Sa.Qua.Na, dishes also have an Eastern flair, courtesy of Alexandre Bourdas, a French chef who used to live in Japan. The restaurant made a splash earlier this year when it earned its second Michelin star.

Even more abundant are galleries and exhibition spaces — no surprise in a town that begs to be painted. Many French artists have done just that. Georges Seurat, the founder of Neo-Impressionism, captured the old harbor, which today is surrounded by tiny bars and expansive terrace cafes that serve Belgian beers and croque-monsieurs to linen-clad French tourists. Raoul Dufy pointed his easel toward the centuries-old Église Ste.-Catherine, whose exterior of wooden boards and shingles feels plucked from Cape Cod and now adorns postcards that fill souvenir shops.

On this afternoon, art aficionados drifted among the airy rooms of the Musée Eugène Boudin to gaze at coastal scenes of Honfleur by Impressionist and pre-Impressionist masters — Claude Monet, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Édouard Villard, Johan Barthold Jongkind — whose works comprise a gala exhibition called “Honfleur: Entre Tradition et Modernité, 1820-1900.” Running through Sept. 6, the 225-work exhibition is one of the many cultural events in northern France that are part of “Impressionist Normandy,” a yearlong festival that celebrates the region’s role in unmooring painting from the strict rules and realistic storytelling styles of the past.

By SETH SHERWOOD

The old port at Honfleur.

Have you ever wondered; being in a place if it was the absolute reality or maybe you just dreamed it up? Have you also been in situation where the place you are at has made you feel like the right amount of contemporary as well as a deep feeling of being part of a rich history?

Venice is one of those places that will definitely make you feel like that! Try going to Venice and standing at one of Venice’s bridges, the reflections of the buildings in the water as you silently watch a gondola passing by you. That is when you realize you just been transported back about two hundred years.

According to Thomas Mann, Venice is beguilingly and suspiciously beautiful. The city keeps on a façade of luxury, laid back nature, casualness and indifference even. It sum how manages to keep its ability to charm and enrich; a big secret.

The first inhabitants settled down on a collection of about one hundred and twelve islands and found it an ideal place to establish base. The merchants of Venice organized a coup in the year eight hundred and twenty eight and stole all the remains of the evangelist mark from Alexandria who was their patron saint. Saint Mark had a lion as a heraldic impression. Earlier the patron stain was Saint Theodore who was then preceded by saint mark.

When Henry the fourth conquered Constantinople, the cathedral that was built for saint mark; was inaugurated. After about one hundred years later, Venice was ready to take over the entire Mediterranean. Once the trade route was discovered through India, Venice then became a trade centre connecting Europe to the orient.

The entire city was controlled by about three hundred noble families, ten city fathers and a doge (head of state). This was done so that the money would remain in the hands of a few rich families. These; who would take old Venice with its old buildings, churches, palaces, squares, arcades and bridges and transform it into a modern architectural wonder.

Later napoleon took over the city and overthrew the doge in the late seventeen hundreds. Following this, the city became part of Austria and then finally Italy.  The entire city is on an elevated platform made from about ten thousand piles of oak and helm. This cuts through two hundred canals that span about four hundred bridges.

The grand canal which is about two and half miles long is lined with grand buildings and palaces with their best sides to show facing the Grand Canal.

St Marks square

The square is around the grand town hall. Over here the basilica of san Marco and the palace of the earlier doge are impressive and beautiful. However the cathedral of saint mark raises some questions as the architecture on the inside is almost Byzantine. The walls are gilded with gem studded pala d’or exhibits. All this relates to a Byzantine past, which obviously Venice has never seen!

The doge’s palace however basks in luxury and is filled with stories of murders, wealth and victories. The oldest café in Europe is right here in Venice; the florian, which is located on the market square, has a violinist who plays the most serenading music.

Once you are done with this place, head over to one of the many gondolas and travel elegantly in the lagoon, look at the beautiful architecture and wealth of the city.

From the time of the grand entrance, the entire city of Venice is pretty dramatic, go to hotels like the Cipriani and saneieli and experience what it feels like.
Outside the churches you will find many squares. These squares always have delicious food. Apparently; the fegatoo alla veneziana is a local favorite.

While you are in Venice, you should definitely go check out all the islands, an excursion would serve the purpose the best. You should check out Lido, where most painters, film directors and artists come to get inspired and also to film the scenery around the place.

By Theearthtraveler

By the Grand Canal - Venice

An area of outstanding beauty and one of Britain’s most beautiful attractions, the Lake District has been drawing visitors from around the world for many years. The summer is finally here so now is your chance to visit this spectacular location at a time where the sun may be out!

England’s largest National Park, its highest mountain and its deepest lake can all be found in this beautiful corner of the country. If you’re looking for the perfect getaway this summer you have to consider taking the family to the picturesque Lake District – where you’re sure to find plenty of things to do; from walking to climbing, boating to shopping, there are a variety of activities you can get involved with when you make a trip to the Lake District.

Travelling to the Lake District by Car

With the establishment of the M6 Motorway in the late 50’s, The Lake District has become more easily accessible. Many of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who visit every year travel by car, some even opting to bring caravans so they can make the most of their time away from home by enjoying nature first-hand. However, the Lake District does have a broad range of accommodation to suit all budget types. From bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, guest houses to farm houses, you’ll have absolutely no problems in finding the perfect accommodation when you visit the Lakes.

Perhaps you are thinking of leaving the kids at home and spending your time away from home with your partner? Many couples travel to the Lake District every year for its beautiful scenery, stunning restaurants, quaint pubs and so much more! The vast majority of accommodation found in the Lake District can be found by searching online, and you can save huge amounts of money by booking over the Internet.

The Lake District is one of the rare places in England that continues to attract tourists that usually go abroad – why? Its natural beauty and ease of access makes this an affordable holiday never to forget.

By  Charlotte Walker

Lake District is one of Britain’s most beautiful attractions.

Travel magazine names Bangkok world’s ‘Top City,’ giving officials hope for recovery.

Bangkok city officials say they are humbled and inspired after receiving Travel + Leisure magazine’s “Top City” award, despite recent street riots that sent tourists packing.

Bangkok Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra told a news conference that the award offers a morale boost to the battered capital and called on political protesters to behave themselves. The recent political upheaval prompted dozens of international travel advisories and emptied hotels.

“What we have in our hands is very precious,” said Sukhumbhand. “We must prevent troubles and any more losses from happening in our beloved city. We should not damage it any further.”

A grenade explosion Sunday in a central Bangkok shopping area killed one person and wounded 10. Authorities have declined to speculate if it was politically related.

The No. 1 ranking in the magazine’s top 10 cities list appears in the August edition of Travel + Leisure, which was based on a poll of readers who cast votes from December to March to rate their favorite cities, islands, hotels, airlines and other categories. Nearly 16,000 readers participated. The polling stopped a few days before civil disorder erupted in Bangkok that lasted 10 weeks and ended May 19 with nearly 90 dead and 1,400 hurt.

During the chaos, several top hotels and upscale department stores closed because they were surrounded by thousands of anti-government protesters. Dozens of buildings were damaged or burned as the protests were broken up in a military crackdown.

Nationwide hotel occupancy in May — the end of tourism’s high season — was 32 percent, down 10 percent from the same period last year, said Prakit Chinamornpong, president of Thai Hotels Association.

The Bangkok governor visited New York last week to pick up the award from the magazine’s publishers and said he met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and asked for advice about New York’s post 9-11 recovery.

“‘Bad things happened, but we must move forward. We can’t stop. We must keep up the morale.’ That’s what Mayor Bloomberg told me,” he said.

By KINAN SUCHAOVANICH

Bangkok city officials say they are humbled and inspired after receiving Travel + Leisure magazine's "Top City" award, despite recent street riots that sent tourists packing.

While at Pennsylvania, you cannot fail to visit the world famous Philadelphia tourist attractions that offers wide array of entertaining features and wonderful sightseeing. The two most important and prominent places to visit at Philadelphia are the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, these are a must visit locations whoever visits this city. There are varied tourist attractions at Philadelphia that includes the world famous Philadelphia Zoo, quaint old residential street and Elfreth’s Alley. The Philadelphia Zoo is one of the nation’s oldest zoos and still attracts a lot of people here. Given below is a brief introduction to some of the most visited and most famous Philadelphia tourist attractions:

1. Independence Hall locate at chestnut street is world famous; the hall is situated right opposite the Liberty Bell. The Independence Hall is a place of historic importance; this was the birthplace of United States that was completed in the year 1756. The monument is made of red brick and on the top is a clock tower. Independence Hall is one of the biggest and greatest icons of the United States of America; it is one of the most famous and major tourist attractions of Philadelphia. The most important room here is the Assembly room where George Washington was designated as commander in chief of the Army.
2. Elfreth’s Alley is located on the 2nd street, its one of America’s oldest residential street continuously occupied till date. The place dates back to early 1700s, the popular tourist attraction indicates how a colonial Philadelphia must have once looked like. The Alley’s narrow streets are lined up with the modest setting of brick houses that are built for skilled folks and their families to live in. Near to the Alley you can find Elfreth’s Alley Museum that includes restored homes of a chair maker and dressmaker.
3. The Liberty Bell is another greater symbol of American history, a symbol of freedom and the place of historic importance that attracts lots of tourists round the year. The Bell is housed in a massive glass pavilion that was earlier placed in Independence Hall; it was moved to its current location in the 1976 Bicentennial. It is also popularly known by the name State House Bell.
4. Philadelphia Zoo is located near Fairmont park, it is one of the oldest America’s zoo that was opened in the year 1874. It was the time when country was celebrating first hundred years of independence. The zoo accommodates over 2,000 animals and also includes many attractions inside the zoo. The notably greater attractions inside the zoo include the Reptile House, Bird House, Primate Reserve, Carnivore Kingdom, African Plains, Amphibian house and children’s zoo.

Other Philadelphia tourist attractions include places like Fort Mifflin, Rodin Museum, City Hall, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Society Hill historic district, Germantown historical society museum, Congress hall, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts museum, Franklin Institute Science Museum and many other attractions.

By Articlepinch

Philadelphia , the birthplace of US independence.

Sleepy Austrian village wakes up with annual beer fest, complete with dirndls and oom-pah-pah.

Dirndls, lederhosen, an oom-pah-pah band and beer: It doesn’t get more traditional than this when the sleepy Austrian village of Altaussee wakes up for a nonstop beer party, Sept. 4-6.

The annual three-day beer fest is sometimes described as a more intimate and less commercial version of Germany’s Oktoberfest. It marks its 50th anniversary this year in Altaussee, a quaint hamlet located 186 miles (300 kilometers) west of Vienna.

Showing up in traditional garb is a must. So if you’ve ever wanted to don an Austrian dirndl or lounge around in lederhosen and knee socks for a few days — this is your chance.

Organized by the local fire department, the annual beer fest draws both droves of locals and a large crowd from the Austrian capital.

It was with one of these Viennese groups that I decided to make the trip last year.

Within minutes of our arrival, the owner of the inn we stayed at welcomed us with a hearty “Griass eich!” (an informal greeting in the local dialect). We had entered another world where talk revolved not around politics or the financial crisis but about the strength of the local schnapps.

The epicenter of the event is the so-called beer tent (”Bierzelt” in German) crammed with wooden benches, tables and counters selling sausages, roast chicken and, of course, beer. From a stage in the center, bands pump out “oom-pah-pah” tunes that, in the early hours of Sunday morning, oddly enough included an Austrian rendition of “The Final Countdown.” A small fairground lies to one side the tent, complete with rides and stalls selling sweets and gingerbread hearts.

As the tent fills up to maximum capacity, you might consider securing a spot at the Wirtschaft Altaussee, an inn a stone’s throw away where, as the night wears on, patrons are known to dance on tables to Austrian and German pop songs. Or for a more formal dinner, try the restaurant at the Gasthof zum Hirschen where we spotted Hannes Androsch, a well-known entrepreneur and former Austrian finance minister.

By VERONIKA OLEKSYN

Young women arrive in their traditional Dirndl dresses during a beer fest in Altaussee, Austria, Sept. 7, 2009. Each year at the start of September, the sleepy hamlet of Altaussee about 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Vienna turns into a nonstop beer fest some describe as the Alpine republic's more intimate and less commercial version of Germany's Oktoberfest.

Seabrook Island is a dream-like locale just south of Charleston, South Carolina. As a gated, private beach-front community, the island is free of commercial entities like fast food restaurants. Instead, beach-going families are treated to picturesque views of sunrises over the Atlantic Ocean and sunsets over the Edisto River. For those seeking more active adventures than sunbathing on the miles of deer-filled beaches, the island’s beach club offers swimming pools, tennis, golf and a world-class equestrian center.

White, Sandy Beaches Filled with Wildlife
Seabrook’s beaches are formed along the point where the Edisto River meets the Atlantic Ocean. On the south side of the island, the Edisto River’s brackish water is ideal for shore fishing or crab trapping. Since waters are calm along the river, the southern beaches of the island are the perfect place for children to swim. Dolphins play near the shoreline just before sunset nearly every evening.

The eastern beaches are better suited to stronger swimmers, as the Atlantic Ocean’s undertow can be quite pronounced, especially after inclement weather. While the waves are not high enough for surfing, body boarding is popular, as are Wind Jammers.

Seabrook has abundant wildlife, including deer seen throughout the island. Piebald deer are common among the hundreds of white tailed deer. Foxes roam the island near nightfall. Alligators sun along the golf course, and are reportedly not aggressive. Sea Turtles, while highly protected, often nest near the mouth of the Edisto River. Pelicans are also plentiful, and fly in formations throughout the day.

Club Facilities and Sports on Seabrook Island
The Beach Club of Seabrook Island boasts some of the best sports facilities in the area. Two 18-hole golf courses are available, along with professional lessons for those who need them. A large pool and arcade area overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, and is housed with a swimsuit cover-up friendly restaurant and island store. For those who play tennis, the Racquet Club offers social, competitive and instructional programs for all experience levels, as well as a full-service pro shop.

The Equestrian Center’s facilities provide the unique experience to ride a horse along the beach. Besides the beach ride, pony and trail rides are available. If traveling with a personal horse, boarding services can accommodate up to 42 horses.

Kayaking is a popular activity in the Edisto River. Directly across the river is a private island known for its stunning sea shells, but can only be reached by boat. There are also several sandbars that are accessible by kayak during tide shifts. The sandbars offer close-up views of the dolphins. If Kayaking seems like too much work, boats may be rented from the Bohicket Marina, located just beyond the Seabrook Island security gate.

Renting a House on Seabrook Island
When planning a stay at Seabrook, do not look for a hotel room, as there are none. Instead, Beachwalker Rentals and ResortQuest on Johns Island offer villas and houses for rent. Accommodations vary in both price and size, but generally range between $100 per night for a villa in the off season, to $1500 per night for a four bedroom house, also during the off season.. Prices are highest during the peak of the summer vacation season, from the middle of June until the end of August. While many properties come with access to the Beach Club amenities, some accommodations require a $25/day fee if using the Beach Club.

By  Katie Evans

Seabrook Island

PARIS — Many people buy a pied-à-terre in Paris to use for a few weeks a year and to rent the rest of the time. Most of them don’t realize, however, that they are breaking the law. Now, the city government is trying to address the problem with a more direct approach to enforcement.

Mayor Bertrand Delanoë ordered an agency last year to warn property owners that renting out residential apartments for less than a year at a time violated French law. The move was intended to address the lack of affordable housing in the city center. Those who ignored the warning, he said, would be prosecuted.

Only about 25 letters have been sent since enforcement began last autumn — most of them in response to complaints made by neighbors. And only a handful of those cases have gone to court.

But the rental industry in this most-visited city in the world is concerned and, as more owners slowly become aware of the issue, confusion is growing. A few have pulled their properties off the market, others have deleted addresses or other identifying details from Internet listings. And dozens of rental agencies have banded together to try to save their lucrative business.

“No one seems to know what this crackdown means, but I feel my business will have to change,” said Susie Hollands of Vingt Paris, a property advisory and management company.

There is no precise tally of how many of the 1.3 million residences in Paris are being used for short-term rentals. Industry professionals estimate there may be tens of thousands, with a significant proportion owned by foreigners who bought them as vacation homes or investment properties. (Those buyers are predominantly Americans, Italians and Britons, according to brokers.)

Those in the industry also say they believe that the numbers have risen sharply in the last 10 years as the Internet has made it easier to find potential renters.

To legally offer short-term rentals, owners would need to have their residential properties reclassified as commercial sites, a complicated process that involves finding a commercial property in the same neighborhood that can be transformed into residential use.

“It isn’t difficult; it is impossible,” said Fabrice Luzu, a notary who has helped many international clients invest in city real estate. “The owner must apply for a special permit and there is very little chance he would obtain it.”

Without such a permit, any apartment classified as residential in a French city of more than 200,000 must be offered with a minimum one-year lease. The law, passed in 2005, has some exceptions for student housing.

For landlords in Paris, the difference in income can be substantial. Depending on how it is renovated, a 650-square-foot apartment in the chic Saint-Germain-des-Prés area, for example, could be rented furnished for 2,500 euros ($3,100) a week, Ms. Hollands said.

She estimates that the yearly income, based on the flat being rented about 70 percent of the time, would bring triple the amount of a long-term lease.

She added, “Unfurnished, on a long lease, it would rent between 2,200 euros and 2,500 euros a month” or at most, 30,000 euros a year.

The police are charged with enforcing the law, but rarely do. So last year, after several attempts, Paris succeeded in transferring enforcement within the city to the mayor’s housing agency, the Bureau de la Protection des Locaux d’Habitation, or the office for the protection of residential property.

“We decided to apply the law in a strict manner,” said Franck Affortit, the agency’s assistant director. “Letters have been sent to owners, who include many Italians, some Americans and British and French.”

Most of those owners have taken their properties off the rental market, while “several” others who have not are being prosecuted, Mr. Affortit said.

One case has resulted in a preliminary judgment in favor of the city; court dates for the other cases have not yet been set, Mr. Affortit said.

Conviction could result in a fine of as much as 25,000 euros. Continued violation could result in additional fines of as much as 1,000 euros a square meter a day. Still, he admits that given his small staff of five, tracking down violators “is a problem.”

Therefore, he said, “we are going to apply this in an intelligent manner.”

By JEAN RAFFERTY

Many foreign owners in Paris use their apartments only part of the year, renting them out to short-term tenants for the rest.