Search results for

When you think of a chocolate factory, a hip and airy space in the heart of one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods may not spring to mind. But therein lies the surprise that is Dandelion Chocolate: part factory, part café, part boutique, and located in the heart of the Mission. Like beans for coffee and grapes for wine, Dandelion brings the idea of single-origin sourcing to each bar it creates. Rather than add strange ingredients to alter the flavor of the chocolate, Dandelion uses just two ingredients—cocoa beans and sugar—which allows each bean’s unique flavor and terroir to shine. Drop in for hot chocolate (with handmade marshmallows) or a chocolate dessert created by Dandelion’s pastry chef, shop for gifts, and take a twirl through the factory, where beans are roasted, cracked, sorted, winnowed, ground, and tempered before being molded. Each bar is wrapped by hand in gorgeous paper and ribbon and affixed with a label that tells a story about the cocoa bean’s origin. For a deeper dive into chocolate, Dandelion has a schedule of classes for adults and kids, and even leads trips to cocoa farms.

Union Station is as stunning as it is rich in history, and continues to be a vital hub for L.A. rail, metro, and bus transport. On the outside, the building resembles an art deco riff on the old California missions; inside, the inlaid travertine and terra-cotta floors show the sort of detail work so rare in modern depots. Local tip: Settle into one of the giant leather chairs in the cavernous waiting room and immerse yourself in the city’s seedy side with Chandler’s noir classic, The Big Sleep. (Without a ticket you can’t enter the waiting room, but you can at least enjoy the Navajo patterning on the station floors.)

The great macaron debate may forever wage on, but from the first time I tucked into a small box of Pierre Hermé’s diminutive cookies, perfectly crisp on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside, I knew I’d remain loyal to his interpretation. Perhaps best known for his unique flavors—foie gras and chocolate, lemon and fennel, vanilla and basil, among many others—it’s his Ispahan croissant, with rose almond paste and crushed raspberry flakes, that really keeps me going back.

The Common becomes extraordinary on winter evenings when the Christmas tree is up and soft lights seem to hold back the twilight chill, but the truth is there’s no bad time to visit the nation’s oldest public park. The former cow pasture has been a focal point for Boston’s history and culture since its inception in 1636—a site for riots and rallies from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War era as well as weddings, hangings, and burials. Summer splashing and winter skating at the Frog Pond are local traditions, and you can spend hours wandering from landmark to landmark (like Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s famous bas-relief Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment, or the Soldiers and Sailors monument atop Flag Staff Hill). Or you can just laze in the sun on the park’s west-side lawn.

It’s no coincidence that walking around Liberty feels as if you’re exploring someone’s grand home; the department store’s founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, wanted to create that very feel, and so in 1875 settled on a Tudor-style building that featured a jumble of interconnecting rooms. A wooden staircase at one end connects the six floors, and a paper room sells stationery in the store’s iconic floral Liberty print, fashion and beauty halls, a cafe, and multiple branded treatment rooms. Still, it’s the florist’s shop outside that seems to provide the main draw; as any passing tourist will attest, its colourful array of blooms is highly Instagrammable.

Located in the small river town of Hannibal, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is actually a cluster of eight buildings that pay homage to one of America’s most celebrated authors. Visitors can tour Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Garden—a designated National Historic Landmark—to see where Samuel Langhorne Clemens grew up and the real adventures of Tom Sawyer took place, then pop into the Interpretive Center to view a timeline of his life and several interactive exhibits. Also worth checking out are the Huckleberry Finn House (where Tom Blankenship grew up), the Becky Thatcher House (featuring a museum dedicated to Laura Hawkins and childhood in the mid-1800s), the J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office (where Twain’s father held court), and the Museum Gallery (home to 15 Norman Rockwell paintings and treasured Clemens family artifacts). Before heading out, be sure to pose for a family photo in front of the Tom & Huck Statue, which sits at the foot of Cardiff Hill.

The Eastern Market, now a National Historic Landmark, opened in 1873 to serve the Capitol Hill neighborhood (an 1805 version, located down by the Navy Yard, was a casualty of the War of 1812). The brick market hall, packed with butchers, bakers, vegetable markets, cheese vendors, flower kiosks, and a lunch counter, is bright and charming. Under the shed roof outside, additional local produce is displayed and sold. On weekends, booths selling vintage goods and handmade jewelry, housewares, and clothing do a brisk business down the center of 7th Street. Crowds spill out of the cafés, taco joints, and bagel shops occupying the first floors of the row houses along the block, adding to the lively mix at the market.

With headquarters in Portland, Oregon, the Ace Hotel brings a dose of Pacific Northwest cool to the Flatiron District of Manhattan. Located in a turn-of-the-century building, the Ace has become a hub for stylish visitors and freelancing New Yorkers—locals often set up shop in the hip lobby to work and sip Stumptown coffee. The aesthetic is laid-back yet creative, with fun local art, free Wi-Fi, and quirky touches like tabletops made from discarded Hubble telescope lenses. The Ace is unpretentious and inviting, with a social and interactive lobby and two destination restaurants. Rooms range from small bunk rooms to spacious loft suites—offering a match for a variety of price points.

This Oklahoma institution opened its first Colorado outpost in 2018 at the Lumière Hotel, offering unconventional menu items like cauliflower steaks with mushroom risotto, mahi-mahi mango ceviche, and new spins on local classics, like a green-chili chowder with roasted corn and poblano peppers. Beyond the food, the cocktails here really sing—you’ll want to try the Misty Maiden, with locally distilled vodka, lemon, grapefruit, and St. Germain.

Just about every aspect of the farm experience comes to life at Long Meadow Ranch’s public-facing facility in St. Helena. The relaxed destination includes an outdoor café, a restaurant named Farmstead, and a general store with wine- and olive oil–tasting bars—as well as an open-air pavilion that is perfect for events. Start mornings at the café, where you can enjoy a cup of Stumptown coffee and freshly baked goods at picnic tables in the shade of a giant blue spruce. Later in the day, hit Farmstead for a lunch of salads made with vegetables grown on-site or for a rack of the restaurant’s signature Heritage St. Louis ribs. (Pro tip: The “brick chicken,” or chicken cooked beneath a brick, can’t be beat.) If you’re visiting in the early afternoon, go to the general store to sample flights of Long Meadow Ranch wines or olive oils or to stock up on such artisan provisions as locally made cheese and salumi. Executive Chef Stephen Barber also hosts regular lunches and dinners at a chef’s table inside the property’s historic Logan Ives House. These meals can include a walk through the culinary garden, followed by a multi-course meal paired with Long Meadow Ranch wines.

This hotel is on our list of The 10 Best Hotels in Canada.

Set in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Banff National Park, the year-round Fairmont Banff Springs was the brainchild of Sir William Cornelius Van Horne, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. On arrival at Banff, the tourism visionary made the canny observation, “Since we can’t export the scenery, we’ll have to import the tourists;” thus, he set about building a string of great railway hotels across Canada. The original wooden hotel that opened here in 1888 burned down in 1926, but was replaced two years later with the grander castle-meets-baronial-Scottish-hall structure that exists today. The public lobby spaces are vast, and there are countless nooks to curl up in with a book where guests will remain undisturbed. With its signature stone walls, turrets, and winding staircases, Van Horne’s gambit paid off: The Fairmont Banff Springs feels for all the world like an elegant and ancient castle, albeit one with all the modern conveniences.

Rooms in the main building come with quirky period details such as chandeliers and crown moldings, while those in the Stanley Thompson Wing (the old staff quarters) are more spacious and a solid bet for families—who will also enjoy the kids’ club packed with activities such as campouts, science projects, and arts and crafts. The hotel also has 11 different restaurants, cafés, and bars, with the choices so diverse—from sushi, fondue, and Italian to Canadian steakhouse and southern U.S. barbecue—that guests are issued a food guide upon check-in to help them make the most of the hotel’s offerings. Of course, there are also a wide array of activities to help round out your time between meals, from skiing and rounds on the resort’s 27-hole championship golf course to downtime in the expansive Willow Stream Spa, which features indoor and outdoor whirlpools, a European-style mineral pool, and 23 rooms for therapeutic treatments.

Chef Normand Laprise’s impact on Montréal’s culinary scene starts with the dishes served at Toqué, but it extends to the many restaurants headed by young chefs who honed their skills in his kitchens. Among the most notable is Montréal Plaza, opened in 2015. Charles-Antoine Crête, who worked with Laprise for 14 years, presides over this contemporary brasserie along with Cheryl Johnson, a former sous-chef at Toqué. The choice of location—on the Plaza St-Hubert, an outdoor shopping street with 400 businesses linked by a trademark green canopy—surprised some given that it’s a high-end gourmet restaurant, but the 70-seat Montréal Plaza includes a number of small rooms that create a sense of intimacy in what could be a cavernous space. The menu consists of small plates intended to be shared, with dishes like baloney cannelloni and a Caesar salad with chicken livers embodying Crête’s approach to cooking: irreverent, fearless, and (almost) always surprisingly delicious.

Salzburg’s splendor took shape under the prince-archbishops who ruled here during the Holy Roman Empire. Their former center of power is now a collection of the city’s most important structures called the DomQuartier, with museums and galleries documenting Salzburg’s golden age. Here among the lively squares are highlights like the baroque 17th-century Salzburg Cathedral and the 7th-century St. Peter’s Abbey—said to be the oldest in the German-speaking world. Browse the art collections of the archbishops in the Residenzgalerie and further explore their history in the state rooms of the Alte Residenz (Old Palace) and in the Salzburg Museum in the Neue Residenz (New Palace).

Located just off shore in the shadow of Brimstone Hill, Sandy Point National Marine Park is renowned for its scuba diving. The area features large coral formations, canyons for divers to swim through, and a mooring site called Anchors Away, where a half-dozen anchors were dropped on the reef centuries ago by sparring French, English, and Spanish warships.

One of a number of new boutiques popping up across the city that celebrate the resurgence of Ireland’s rich design heritage. Come here for stylish souvenirs from a new generation of artisans who are reinterpreting old techniques, and choose from a range of mediums including textiles, print, glass and wood.