Cheapflights.com Celebrates the Birds and the Bees

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 23, 2013) - Spring is the season of birth and rebirth. From budding trees to baby ducks to buzzing bees, we are surrounded by new signs of life. Add in Mother's Day, and reproduction is suddenly top of mind. To celebrate spring and the maternal instinct, the travel experts at Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, went in search of fertile grounds for those with babies on their mind. Our Top 10 Fertility Destinations highlights unique festivals, rituals and monuments that are believed to be lucky charms in the baby-making department. 

While our list of Top 10 Fertility Destinations includes ancient festivals and rituals taking place throughout the year, below are five destinations on the list with lucky sites you can visit any time of year.

• The Mên-an-Tol, Cornwall, United Kingdom - Known locally as the Crick Stone, the name Mên-an-Tol literally means "the hole stone" in the old Cornish Language. This mysterious Bronze Age monument has been standing in West Cornwall for nearly 4,500 years and local legend claims if a woman passes through the stone hole seven times backwards on a full moon, she will soon become pregnant.
  
  
• Everard 't Serclaes Statue, Brussels, Belgium - In 1356, Everard 't Serclaes of Brussels led efforts to reclaim the city after Flemish attack. Serclaes succeeded, but was later assassinated and in the 19^th century a monument was dedicated to him near the Grand Place. Touching the statue is said to bring luck and help with infertility, and it's easy to see which parts of the statue are considered the most lucky -- Serclaes' body, an angel's face, a dog and a shield -- thanks to their shiny, polished appearance.
  
  
• Victor Noir Grave, Paris, France - Although nowhere near as famous as the other residents of Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Victor Noir's grave has become one of the site's main attractions. Local legend has it that a quick rub of his trousers will increase fertility and as a result, thousands of women pay a visit to Monsieur Noir in the hope of becoming pregnant. Victor Noir was a 19^th century French journalist, famous for the manner of his death and its political consequences, was shot and killed in a duel gone wrong by the great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. To boost your own chances of conceiving, kiss the statue on the lips, place a flower in his upturned top hat, then rub.
  
  
• The Weeping Column, Istanbul, Turkey - Worshippers and tourists have been visiting the Weeping Column inside stunning Hagia Sophia for centuries. The column -- also known as the Column of St. Gregory -- is said to weep holy water capable of curing everything from blindness to infertility. Taken from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the column is made of white marble and now stands in the northern corner of the museum. Visitors place their thumb into a hole in the column and turn it 360°. If their thumb comes out feeling damp it is said their affliction will be cured.
  
  
• Cerne Abbas Giant, Dorset, United Kingdom - Dominating the rural countryside, carved into the white chalk rock on the steep west-facing side of Trendle Hill is the 180-foot high and 167-foot wide image of a naked man. The origins of the Cerne Abbas Giant are shrouded in mystery and like several other chalk figures carved into the English countryside, its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century. Local folklore has long held it to be an aid to fertility and it is said any woman who sleeps on the figure will be blessed with children. However, others believe it to be either an ancient symbol of spirituality, an homage to the Greco-Roman hero Hercules, or a mockery of military and political leader Oliver Cromwell. Although best seen from the air, the best ground view of the Giant is from a lay-by and parking lot off the A532 just outside the village of Cerne Abbas.
  

Rounding out the list are destinations with fertility festivals and rituals taking place at specific times throughout the year, so plan your travels accordingly. These include: Watering of the Girls, Holloko, Hungary (at Easter); Hōnen Matsuri and Kanamara Matsuri, Japan (on March 15); Obando Fertility Rites, Philippines (every May); Ivan Kupala Day, Eastern Europe (on the summer solstice); and Osun-Osogbo Festival (late summer), Osogbo, Nigeria. To read about these reproductive destinations and Cheapflights.com's complete list of Top 10 Fertility Destinations, visit http://news.cheapflights.com/top-10-fertility-destinations.

About Momondo Group
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 13 million visitors a month - plus 6 million travel newsletter subscribers - via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.com) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.

Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006. 

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen, Boston and Toronto, with a consumer base across more than 20 core international markets but users all over the world.