Bonvoyageurs

Luxury travel, escapes, cruises and city breaks for discerning business and leisure travelers

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Border search exception : confiscating your cellphone is legal!

January 2, 2014 by Denis 6 Comments

Border Search Exception. International travelers, be forewarned: the US federal court decision announced on New Year’s Eve did not seem to attract a lot of attention, but its impact should be of interest to all of you. The court upheld the government’s right, at the borders, to inspect and copy the contents of travelers’ laptops… 

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Filed Under: Travel Tips Tagged With: airports, American Civil Liberties Union, around the world, Border search exception, Canada, cellphone, city breaks, Edward R. Korman, Electronics, ipad, Joie de vivre, Laptop, luxury escapes, Mexico, Quebec City, Reasonable suspicion, Travel, United States, United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Winterthur Museum ~ An easy day trip!

December 28, 2013 by Denis Leave a Comment

Winterthur Museum is the premier museum of American decorative arts and is an easy and worthwhile day trip year-round for people living in the Mid-Atlantic region. Originally a 60-acre mansion and estate of the Dupont family located within a 1,000 acre preserve of rolling meadows and woodlands, Winterthur (named after the Swiss town of the… 

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Filed Under: N. America, USA Tagged With: around the world, Baltimore, Christmas, Christmas tree, city breaks, Hearst Castle, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Philadelphia, Quebec City, Shelburne, Travel, United States, Vermont, Washington DC, Winterthur, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur Museum and Country Estate

Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, … the smart way to travel!

December 3, 2013 by Denis 15 Comments

Global Entry. A few years ago, I was coming back from overseas into the US and was waiting in line for my turn to go thru passport control at the airport.  While hundreds of us were standing around waiting, we could see a few travelers head to a row of ATM-looking machines on the side… 

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Filed Under: Travel Tips Tagged With: Airport security, around the world, Australia, Canada, city breaks, FAST, Global Entry, Joie de vivre, Korea, luxury escapes, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, NEXUS, PreCheck, Privium, Quebec City, SENTRI, SES, Smart Gate, TSA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, United States

Delhi … or is it New Delhi? Some thoughts on India travel

September 19, 2013 by Denis 2 Comments

India travel.   We are going to India and Nepal next February. This is a trip which I was not keen to organize,  even though I now have a new career as a travel writer and a blogger (I invite you to visit my travel blog BonVoyageurs.com and enter your email address on the home… 

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Filed Under: Asia, Exotic East, India, Travel Tales Tagged With: Agra, around the world, Asia, Besancon, China, city breaks, Curry, Delhi, India, India travel, Jaipur, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Mughal Empire, Mumbai, Nepal, New Delhi, Quebec City, Travel, United States

Grasse, France ~ The scent of a woman …

September 10, 2013 by Denis 2 Comments

Grasse France.   We had saved today for the historic and hilly town of Grasse, the world capital of perfume, located about ten miles up the hills of the Maritime Alps behind Cannes. The small town of Grasse still accounts for two thirds of France’s production of perfume essence and food flavorings. The hills around… 

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Filed Under: Europe, European Classics, France, French Riviera, Luxury Escapes, Travel Tales Tagged With: Alexandre Dumas, around the world, Cannes, city breaks, Cote d'azur, Events, Fragonard, France, French Riviera, Frick, Galimard, Grasse, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Maritime Alps, New York City, perfume, Quebec City, Travel, United States

Yichang to Shanghai via Shanghai Airlines !

September 11, 2012 by Denis 2 Comments

Yichang to Shanghai via Shanghai Airlines. Read our previous posting at “Three Gorges Dam river cruise” Our Chinese is getting better; sao dan (wait a moment), pu yong shie (you’re welcome), pie tan shin (don’t worry) are some of our latest additions. And I can’t believe how fantastic the music played on the Chinese cruise… 

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Filed Under: Asia, China, City Breaks, Cruises, Exotic East, Shanghai, Travel Tales, Yangtze River Cruise Tagged With: around the world, China, city breaks, Cruise, Hong Kong, Huangpu River, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Quebec City, Shanghai, Shangri La, Travel, United States, World Financial Center, Yangtze, Yangtze River, Yichang

Three Gorges Dam river cruise !

September 10, 2012 by Denis 4 Comments

Three Gorges Dam river cruise. Read our previous posting at “Yangtze River Cruise and the Yangtze Gold One!” Chang Jiang Huang Jin Yi Hao is the name of our cruise ship; it means Yangtze Gold One in Chinese, who don’t use the term Yangtze. For them, it’s Chang Jiang, the Long (or is it Eternal) … 

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Filed Under: Asia, China, Cruises, Exotic East, Travel Tales, Yangtze River Cruise Tagged With: around the world, China, city breaks, Cruise, cruiseship, Guanzhou, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Quebec City, Qutang Gorge, Three Gorges, Three Gorges Dam, Travel, United States, Yangtze, Yangtze Gold, Yangtze River

Yangtze River Cruise and the Yangtze Gold One !

September 9, 2012 by Denis 2 Comments

Yangtze River Cruise. Read our previous posting at “Cruise Ships: The Yangtze Gold One!” Our first day cruising down the Yangtze river towards the Three Gorges was rather quiet and uneventful. I had purposely selected the three day (in reality two and a half days) downstream Yangtze river cruise, rather than the four day upstream… 

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Filed Under: Asia, China, Cruises, Exotic East, Travel Tales, Yangtze River Cruise Tagged With: around the world, China, Chinese, Chongqing, city breaks, Cruise, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Quebec City, Qutang Gorge, River, Sichuan, Three Gorges, Travel, United States, Yangtze, Yangtze River

National Rail Travel from Chengdu to Chongqing !

September 8, 2012 by Denis 3 Comments

  National Rail Travel from Chengdu to Chongqing. Read our previous posting “Panda Bear keeper for a day!” I was somewhat anxious about our scheduled train ride from Chengdu to Chongqing aboard a China National Rail high speed train. Our guide had warned us that there would be a lot of stairs and there was no… 

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Filed Under: Asia, China, Exotic East, Travel Tales Tagged With: around the world, Asia, Beijing, Chengdu, China, Chongqing, city breaks, Cruise, cruises, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Mobile phone, National Rail, Quebec City, Sichuan, Travel, United States, Yangtze, Yangtze Gold, Yangtze River

Shangri-La Hotel Chengdu !

September 7, 2012 by Denis 3 Comments

Shangri-La Hotel Chengdu. Read the previous posting at “Chengdu China : capital of Sichuan!” Since we were staying at the Shangri-La Hotel Chengdu, we had made reservations at the very formal and top-rated Shang Palace hotel restaurant, where they serve Chinese cuisine at its finest, but at the last minute decided to take it easy… 

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Filed Under: Asia, China, Exotic East, Travel Tales Tagged With: around the world, Asia, Chengdu, China, city breaks, CNN, French Alps, Joie de vivre, luxury escapes, Panda, Quebec City, Shangri La, shangri-la hotel, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Southwest China, Travel, United States

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Meet the Crew.

TOP 10 travel experts and influencers on social media and rated as one of the most influential travel bloggers in the world, Denis and Lynn Gagnon have been circling the globe for more than 45 years. Former international business travelers, they know how to travel - with class, comfort, and style. Members of the National Press Club, PTBA , NATJA and SATW. Wish to connect? Email them at [email protected].

A NEW addition to the BonVoyageurs team is Atlanta-based travel writer and culinary expert Dominique Gagnon, and travel photographer Justin Ellis. By day, Dominique designs and grows new meaningful consumer brands, while Justin is a neuroscientist and psychiatrist researching early brain development. By night, they are watching Chef's Table while plotting their next culinary and sport adventure.

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