Search results for

This comfortable neighborhood restaurant stays busy with regulars and newcomers alike, drawn by chef Hal Holden-Bache’s food and the welcoming vibe co-owner Cara Graham and staff foster at the front of the house. Arrive early for Community Hour—when a portion of the proceeds goes to the local parent-teacher organization—for snacks like Korean beef tacos and deviled eggs with chowchow. Dishes at dinner include stellar wood-fired pizzas and entrées like Porter Road Butcher dry-aged steaks with Chef Hal’s chimichurri, as well as seasonal pasta and fish options. Guests can finish on a sweet note with desserts like an old-fashioned sour-cream doughnut with Olive & Sinclair chocolate sauce, sorghum ice cream, and a crunch of popped caramel sorghum.

The city’s oldest tourist attraction, Zoo Atlanta actually started by accident. In 1889, a traveling circus went bankrupt and sold its animals to a local businessman, who decided to open a zoo in Grant Park to house his new pets. Over the years, he acquired more animals, including some from Cola-Cola heir Asa Candler Jr.’s private collection. Today, the zoo is home to such stars as Willie B. Jr. the silverback gorilla and Lun Lun the giant panda, who gave birth to twins in 2016.

The Grounds café—run out of a former pie factory in the warehouse district of Alexandria—makes coffee, juices, smoothies, baked goods, and rustic breakfast and lunch dishes with equal care. Order a flat white (a cross between a cappuccino and a latte) or a piccolo (a mini latte)—there’s also a coffee tasting board and a deconstructed iced coffee—to pair with your seasonal porridge or Big Brekkie (spicy chorizo and serrano ham with braised white beans, smoked peppers, halloumi, avocado, poached eggs, and thick slabs of house-baked toast). After brekkie, peek into the roastery and Potting Shed restaurant next door, and admire the enchanting garden and event space, complete with a coffee cart, barbecue joint, plant stall, and petting zoo.

To get to know the neighborhood and its daily life, nothing beats a stroll through Alfama’s streets. It is the oldest and one of the most typical neighborhoods in Lisbon. Here you might see two women chatting at the window (well, screaming) while hanging the laundry; people sitting outside on small wooden benches or the entrance steps to old houses; and, of course, people listening to fado. The sounds of fado can come from a fado restaurant or from an old tavern (here fado is called Fado Vadio since it is sung by nonprofessionals after drinking aguardiente). On the nights of June 12 and 13, Alfama celebrates Santos Populares, when the streets are adorned with colorful little flags, the air is aromatic with smoke and smell of sardines, the beer is flowing, and music is everywhere.

One block west of the Bund you can find the Rockbund Art Museum, housed in Shanghai’s former Royal Asiatic Society building (1932). Like many of the grande dame Bund buildings, RAS was dreamt up by British design firm Palmer and Turner and done to the nines in art deco style. The museum hosts its share of heavy hitters from the contemporary art world, such as Zhang Huan, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Rockbund is small but charming, especially the tranquil top-floor café and lounge, which give way to a small terrace overlooking the Pudong skyline.

Housed in Johannesburg’s historically significant University of Witwatersrand, the Origins Center details the history of humankind through displays, artwork, and more. Touring the interactive exhibits, either with a guide or a headset, will not only change the way you think about human existence, but also provide further insight into the way we’ve developed over the ages. While the museum focuses most on South African human development, there’s enough on offer to keep everyone engaged. Be sure to check out the 11 panels depicting the history of the San people in South Africa. Created by local women’s groups, the works serve as a timeline, covering everything from the distant past and the colonial period to issues affecting the San community today.

With its world famous pier, bustling beaches, and chill, but lively nightlife scene that draw eight million visitors annually, Santa Monica can feel a bit crowded in the summer high season. But not at Oceana Santa Monica. Set within the posh neighborhood of Wilshire Montana, the hotel is located across the street from Palisades Park, a peaceful municipal outdoor area dotted with fig and palm trees that runs alongside the Pacific Ocean. Just stepping into the lobby feels like a world away from the hustle and bustle of the Santa Monica pier.


Formerly known as the Oceana Beach Club Hotel, the property debuted in 2019 after it was purchased by Hilton’s upscale LXR brand and underwent a $25 million transformation. The 70 apartment-style guest rooms—most of which feature ocean views—are situated around a heart-shaped pool. Each suite has a separate living room and bedroom, Loro Piana bedding, large bathrooms, and walk-in closets. For even more space, there are two-bedroom suites with ensuite kitchens and balconies.The interior design is by Anna Busta of Busta Studio; expect moody blue couches and gold and wood design accents throughou the space that echo the Pacific Ocean.



Though Santa Monica’s dynamic culinary scene sets a high bar, Oceana Santa Monica’s Sandpiper stands up. Seafood-forward menu items include chilled prawns served with summer melons, pan roasted sheepshead fish plated with littleneck clams, and chopped salads with asparagus, broccolini, and zucchini garnished with watermelon radish, corn, and red onions. Pair the meal with a house cocktail like the Stan Laurel (named after the actor of Laurel and Hardy fame who once called the Oceana home), composed of Empress gin, cointreau, lavender syrup, and lemon juice.

Lincoln Center is an iconic landmark featured in TV shows, movies, and countless city tours. It is an artist’s mecca comprised of many buildings, including Avery Fisher Hall, the Julliard School, and The Metropolitan Opera. All of the buildings were designed by different architects. The focal point and largest building in the complex is The Metropolitan Opera which houses a pair of large paintings by Marc Chagall in its interior. While Lincoln Center is beautiful in day light, it’s true beauty is witnessed at night when the lights from inside the buildings highlight the columns and arches made of travertine.

Occupying the top nine floors of the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, designed by renowned Argentine architect César Pelli, the Mandarin Oriental showcases postcard views of Mount Fuji to the west, Tokyo Skytree and the Sumida River to the east, and Tokyo Bay to the south. The hotel also turns to nature for its design inspiration. The property itself resembles a tree, with its entrance at the bottom of the tower representing the base; on the top floor, fabrics and carpets suggest leaves and branches, creating the feeling of a forest canopy. The 157 rooms and 22 suites were designed with such flourishes as bonsai trees and cherry blossom motifs. At the 37th floor spa, a signature “Totally Tokyo” treatment uses pine, bamboo, plum, green tea, and rice hulls to stimulate the senses and restore a sense of clarity. For dinner, choose between French, Cantonese, and Italian restaurants.

Founded in 1913, this famous botanical garden was the first in the world dedicated to its country’s own flora. The spectacular, 90-acre plant haven forms part of a nature reserve that borders Table Mountain National Park. Besides numerous gardens and forests—some of which you can traverse on high via the futuristic Boomslang (Tree Snake) walkway—Kirstenbosch has a greenhouse, a restaurant run by the popular Moyo group, and a nursery for green thumbs who want to take a piece of the garden home with them. Spend five minutes here and you’ll realize why Kirstenbosch’s displays at the Chelsea Flower Show in London often win gold.

A true desert outpost, the Peruvian town of Mancora enjoys the most sunshine hours of anywhere in the country. Unlike the rest of Peru the water is warm enough to surf without a wetsuit, a welcome complement to an area already featuring some of the best waves in South America. Hemingway knew what he was doing when he set up shop in nearby Cabo Blanco, an authentic fishing village where the ceviche is some of the freshest on the planet and the days pass with a simple peacefulness unique to many coastal escapes. While outdoor activities abound around Mancora, from kitesurfing to fishing to morning yoga sessions, on this particular morning the to-do list consists of nothing more than a good book, a cold drink, and watching whales splash on the endless horizon.

Portland isn’t exactly the kind of city that’s known for being “fancy,” which was why it was so bold for the Starwood Luxury Collection to add a sleek 15th floor to the top of the iconic Meier & Frank department store building downtown—and turn the top nine floors into the swankiest hotel in town. Who would’ve thought that Louis XVI chairs, tufted white leather and teal velvet, crystal chandeliers, and ornate wallpaper would work so well in the city of plaid, beards, and twee bird patterns? In true Field of Dreams fashion, Starwood built it and the travelers came out of the woodwork, hungry for a luxury hotel that embodies the Rose City with everything from environmentally conscious practices and farm-to-table restaurants to an extensive art collection and rooftop honey bee colony. All that’s to say nothing of the private club-like Library, a collaboration with Portland icon Powell’s Books (the world’s largest bookstore) that allows hotel guests to borrow from a curated collection of 3,000 books during their stay. As it turns out, it’s not all that hard to dress Portland to the nines.

Tempt fate at the Monkey Paw’s Book-O-Matic machine, where for the price of a toonie you’ll be delivered an archaic tome in the vein of Elementary Arabic, Vol. 3. I’ll let you know how my studying gets on. The Monkey’s Paw is an eclectic vintage bookstore on Dundas with a collection of unique books, vintage maps, and bugs preserved in Lucite.

This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

Chicago invented the skyscraper, and some of the world’s most elegant examples define the city’s skyline. You can stay in the coolest one of them all, designed by German American architect Mies van der Rohe and run by Langham Hotels. To access the Langham Chicago’s minimalist-yet-opulent 268 guest rooms (including 48 suites), you must first check in at the second-floor lobby; its ceiling is hung with silver pebbles, its sofas populated by stylish guests, and its David Rockwell–designed Travelle restaurant alive with music and bites by executive chef Damion Henry during coveted afternoon teas.

The former IBM building with a black exoskeleton also houses a Chuan Spa, which specializes in such Eastern therapies as acupuncture, cupping, and gua sha. A 67-foot-long indoor pool and full-service fitness center are available to all guests.

Anyone spending the night in the rooms, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows framing Chicago views, has access to one of the city’s best concierges, who can organize a River North food tour, a Frank Lloyd Wright walking excursion, or a mixology class at Travelle. Don’t leave without taking a photo beside Jaume Plensa’s “Anna” sculpture in the Wacker Street lobby—then walk over to Millennium Park to see his larger works on display.

Superstar chef José Avillez’s flagship dining destination is considered the country’s top restaurant. One of Lisbon’s Michelin two-starred affairs (the other is Alma) and fresh off a recent refurbishment, Belcanto is indeed the perfect place to enjoy Portugal’s rich bounty in the most wonderous, creative, and experimental of ways. The classic tasting menu (€165) nets you Avillez’s signature Garden of the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs (egg, crunchy bread, and mushrooms), his most famous work of culinary art. More experimental is the Evolution menu (€185), where dishes such as sea bass with smoked avocado, pistachio oil, lime zest, and dashi push boundaries of tradition. It’s a tough choice, especially considering the classic menu ends with Avillez’s wicked cold citrus bomb of a dessert, Tangerine. Belcanto rang in at No. 42 on the coveted 2019 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.