Visiting Diana’s haunts

"Lady Diana stayed here," explained a guide as we drove past the Montpelier Plantation Inn on the Caribbean island of Nevis.

I heard the same words from another guide a few months later, this time on the island of Barbuda, where the late princess also vacationed.

Lately, it seems, I've been encountering quite a few of Diana's former haunts. On a trip to London this spring, our hotel, the Thistle Kensington Park, was a two-minute walk from Kensington Palace, Diana's former home, so naturally I took a tour of the historic royal property and wandered around its expansive grounds.

It was here that I learned of some of the special events being planned in London this summer to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragic death of the Princess of Wales. But if you can't get there in time, there are always memorials to visit, plus you can stay at some of the same hotels Diana favoured -- or at least see them from the outside. Some of the possibilities for admirers of the "people's princess" include:

MEMORIAL CONCERT

A five-hour memorial concert at Wembley Stadium in London on July 1 marks what would have been Diana's 46th birthday. Among those who will perform are Rod Stewart, Sir Elton John, Bryan Ferry, Duran Duran, Status Quo, Lily Allen, and Joss Stone. But the audience will be bigger than the 62,000 people permitted at the stadium. BBC Television will broadcast the concert live, joined by networks in 140 countries worldwide.

KENSINGTON EXHIBIT

A new exhibition celebrating the life of the late Princess of Wales will open at her former home, Kensington Palace, this Saturday June 30.

"Diana: A Princess Remembered," will feature over 200 photographs, as well as memorable film footage that looks back over Diana's life as a princess, mother, fashion icon and humanitarian.

The largest collection of images of Princess Diana on public display in this anniversary year will also include an audiovisual exhibition featuring interviews with people who knew the princess personally -- designers, photographers, and representatives from some of the many charities Diana patronized and supported.

The tour finishes with a set of stunning portraits of the princess by Mario Testino and an interview with the photographer in which he tells the story of one of Diana's most famous photo shoots. A selection of Diana's dresses, that raised a staggering $5.7 million for charitable causes when auctioned, are also displayed.

Entry to the exhibition, which continues until January 2008, is included in the admission to Kensington Palace.

DIANA FOUNTAIN

Within walking distance of the Palace is the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, which has attracted about one million visitors a year since it was opened by the Queen on July 6, 2004. Located in the southwest corner of London's Hyde Park, the fountain was designed by Kathryn Gustafson, an American landscape artist, and cost 3.5 million pounds.

The oval shaped memorial, laid out on a gentle slope, is made up of 545 individual pieces of Cornish granite, each shaped by the latest computer-controlled machinery.

Originally, visitors were allowed to wade inside the fountain, but after a few slips and falls, wading is no longer permitted, though you can sit along the concrete edges or walk on one of three bridges into the centre of the fountain.

CARIBBEAN RETREATS

If you don't make it to London this year, you can always book yourself a room at one of the Caribbean island hotels in which Diana stayed, including the Montpelier Plantation Inn in Nevis.

The princess vacationed at this small luxury hotel in 1993 after her separation from Prince Charles. The hillside cottages with private verandahs are set amidst a 12-hectare garden, 228-metres above the Caribbean Sea. It's often rated by critics and visitors alike as one of the finest resorts in the Caribbean.

Or, take a peak at the exclusive K Club in Barbuda. Diana is said to have stayed here four times, twice with the two princes, although children under 12 are not normally permitted. Though it's temporarily closed, you can glimpse the calm-inspiring pale turquoise and white colours used throughout the hotel and its gorgeous and deserted 5-kilometre-long beach.

ALMA TUNNEL

In Paris, the Flame of Liberty sits above the entrance to the Alma tunnel. A replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame in New York City, thwe sculptur4e was a gift from the International Herald Tribune in 1987 to celebrate the centennial of the original statue and to reaffirm Franco-American friendship.

Since Diana's death in a car accident in the tunnel in 1997, the flame sculpture has also become an unofficial memorial. Visitors scratch tributes in the surrounding concrete and place bouquets of flowers here. To visit the site, get off at the Alma-Marceau metro station.