Search results for

The Vigeland Park reminds me of Central Park in New York City. The grounds are huge and very well kept. This is the place that you might have heard of - there are over 200 statues of people in action created by artist Gustav Vigeland. In the center of the park there is a large totem sculpture combining many different sculptures into one. It is free to visit and must not be missed when visiting Oslo!

For panoramic views of the entire city—for the price of a subway ride—take the Roosevelt Island Tram. As the suspended car runs parallel to the bridge, spanning the gap between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, you’ll have unparalleled vistas of the New York syline and the East River below. There are few experiences as memorable or accessible, so be sure to ride the tram there and back—it’s particularly dramatic in the morning and evening.

The date-night dinner-and-a-movie standard has been taken to a new stylish height at this acclaimed restaurant in the Mission District. Grab a table on the patio under the strings of lights to dine on seasonal California cuisine while films flicker on the back wall. It’s romantic, and easily one of San Francisco’s most unique dining settings. But don’t think of Foreign Cinema as just a gimmick. The stellar cuisine is the real scene-stealer here, which is why Foreign Cinema is consistently ranked as one of the city’s best restaurants. Chef Gayle Pirie and her partner, chef John Clark, have transformed this into a destination restaurant. Reservations are still tough to get, especially for Saturday night and Sunday brunch, but plan ahead and you’ll be glad. From fresh local oysters on the half shell to caramel pecan sticky buns to a popular sesame curry fried chicken, the food is always as stellar as the setting, making date night or brunch with friends an event you won’t soon forget. The adjacent wine bar, Laszlo, is perfect for predinner drinks or nightcaps.

One of the best views of Florence can be savored from the Piazzale Michelangelo, a short walk across the Arno River from downtown Florence. For a fun afternoon head to the square and enjoy an enchanting panorama of the city, followed by a relaxing alfresco lunch at one of the nearby restaurants. The Piazzale Michelangelo is also worth a visit at night to get a very different glimpse of Florence. The lights of the Duomo and the buildings surrounding it make for a magical nighttime scene.

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

First opened for business in 1912, the iconic Ritz-Carlton Montreal—known as “the grande dame of Sherbrooke Street"—began a $200 million facelift in 2008, opening its doors again in 2012. Quebec’s most luxurious and historic hotel could tell endless celebrity secrets but is, of course, far too discreet to utter a word. It’s no secret, though, that Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton here, that the Rolling Stones rented the entire sixth floor in 1972, and that a who’s who of world leaders, movie stars, and royalty are still regular guests. Situated in the downtown culture and shopping hub that is the Golden Square Mile, the hotel oozes money-is-no-object luxury from every pore: from the ornate duck pond and immaculately manicured garden and terrace to the 100-year-old chandeliers, the sweeping staircases, and the belle époque golden glow of the lobby and palm court. Rooms have a white-and-gray minimalist palette with splashes of signature purple. Antiques and original features blend with ultra high-tech design such as Japanese Toto toilets in all bathrooms, heated floors, and motion-sensor lighting.

There’s a little slice of New Brunswick, Canada, off the coast of Maine, and it’s well worth a visit. Grand Manan Island is accessed by ferry from Black’s Harbour NB. The island is only 34km long and 18km wide, so it doesn’t take long to explore by car. Another popular option is to walk onto the ferry and rent bikes on the island. The main sights on Grand Manan are the beaches, rocky cliffs, and lighthouses. It’s a haven for artists, bird-watchers, and hikers. It’s also a great spot to enjoy fresh seafood. The journey to the island is one of the best parts as you often see whales, seals and other sea life from the ferry decks.

I love staying in a private villa home over a hotel when traveling with a small group, and Breezy Villa by Island Escapes is both affordable and impressively chic. In a secluded hillside location, complete with multiple, swaying palms for privacy and glassy sea-foam green lagoon views that are just a shade lighter than the infinity pool melting into them, it’s easy to check skinny-dipping in paradise off the bucket list when sleeping here. If naked swimming isn’t your thing, no worries, the pool is also perfect for nighttime stargazing floats. And then there is the leeward lagoon location itself -- it is super calm and you can wade for ages through calm and crystalline water here without gaining much depth. There is no direct beach access, but a series of steps wind their way down from the travertine-tiled pool terrace to a small pier where a ladder offers direct sea access. Breezy Villa’s stylish interior is equally appealing. From the arched doorways and pitched roof in the open living room and modern L-shaped kitchen to the square-shaped original ocean-hued paintings hung on either side of the front door to the Grecian-Roman columns on terrace, I love the Zen beach house meets Italian palazzo vibe. Similar-sized sleeping quarters, each featuring a unique wooden bed frame and French doors opening directly to pool terrace, make this three-bedroom home equally perfect for families, especially those traveling with a nanny. It also works well for multiple couples.

Newly opened in December 2023, Villa-des-Pres is a five-star, French-owned hotel in the Parisian neighborhood of Saint Germain-des-Pres. This luxury property has taken over what was originally constructed as an apartment building in 1911, and used as such up until recently. Although it retains its lived-in Parisian feel, the building underwent massive renovations to transform it from apartment to hotel.

Closed until 2024 for renovations.

Set on three-and-a-half acres of garden grounds atop Mönchsberg Mountain, the castle-inspired Hotel Schloss Mönchstein is like something out of a fairytale. Be sure to arrive hungry: In addition to a restaurant that serves Austrian and international fare and an indoor/outdoor orangery with light bites and drinks, the hotel has several private dining rooms, including one nestled in the castle’s tower and dubbed the Smallest Restaurant in the World, as well as a neo-Gothic chamber filled with black-hued antiques. The 24 guest rooms have regal touches like damask-patterned velvets and marble bathrooms with soaking tubs and walk-in rain showers, and a vast menu of treatments at the on-site spa, including Dermalogica facials and body wraps, are fit for royalty. After a day of pampering, an infinity pool and hot tub offer panoramic views over the city below.

The Hotel Orphée, in the medieval city of Regensburg, oozes 19th-century French glamour. Centrally located to Regensburg’s cobblestone streets, local shops, restaurants, and small squares, it’s decorated in a Baroque palazzo style. Each large, reasonably priced room is styled differently, but nearly all feature antiques and four-poster beds. Also on-site is the Orphée Restaurant, a French bistro that’s been in operation since 1896. Surrounded by its authentic wood wainscotting, tin ceiling, old French posters, and overall patina, you’ll feel transported to a distinctly different era—a time when sitting in a small café, drinking wine and watching passersby, could be the grand plan of your day. Note: In the summer, the narrow streets surrounding the hotel get very noisy, so if you’re a light sleeper, this may not be the place for you.

Do you have a preference for Racoon, Bear, or perhaps Native American? Ski down the ‘Last Chance Run’ in Deer Valley and you’ll have your pick. Money will buy pretty much anything, and apparently that includes an entire theatrical production of wild creatures crawling about your million dollar ski chalet. Friendly or ostentatious competition? Who cares, it provides a little humor to the unsuspecting skier. A warm thank you for my Park City experience — courtesy of Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau (http://www.visitparkcity.com/). #VisitParkCity

My bucket list included seeing the Northern Lights. This took me to the Chena Hot Springs Resort located an hour outside of Fairbanks, Alaska (the address is WRONG on the map). The Northern Lights are best seen in clear dark skies which is abundant in the Fairbanks area. It was 22 below (which is way cold!), but you could stay snuggly warm in the natural hot springs. The medicinal powers of the hot springs are also a high point. Maybe my imagination, but I went into the pool with an achy hip and came out pain free. The rock hot springs pool is surrounded by snow covered trees. This one looks to me like a tree nymph pointing to the sky and promising you a night time glimpse of the Northern Lights. What a spectacle it is! Mother Nature at her best is the colorful dancing lights that can be seen in this Alaska wonderland. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the Northern Light will appear so I am not promising you or guaranteeing you that if you go you will definitely have that remarkable experience. But, if you are one of the lucky ones that are blessed with a view of this remarkable phenomenon, it is worth the trip. If not, you may also see shooting stars in the dark night sky filled with more stars than you can imagine, go on a one horse open sleigh ride or go mushing in a sled pulled by a group of eager sled dogs! Also enjoy the cozy pub that has a great menu and drinks aplenty! Call the resort to confirm what activites will be available during your stay.

It was the fifth of seven food stops on our Jordaan Food Tour (http://www.eatingamsterdamtours.com/jordaan-food-tour/), a four-hour gastronomic adventure through one of Amsterdam‘s most scenic and historic neighborhoods. We’d already devoured apple pie, Indonesian sandwiches, ossenworst, raw herring and lightly fried kibbeling. But could we find room for something sweet? Enter Mariska Schaefer, owner of Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje, an old-fashioned candy boutique that harks back to a simpler time, when kids saved pennies for a trip to the local candy store. As we might have expected, a child about ten was using his birthday money to buy a bag filled with his favorite sweets on the day we visited. “No pictures of children,” ordered Mariska, then turned her attention to the kid’s selections. “I opened the candy shop because I really like Dutch old-fashioned shops; they have so much more atmosphere than the big chain stores,” she reflects. Inspired by her grandmother, she stocks drop, the national sweet, in dozens of flavors in her small shop—some sweet, others salty, still others downright inedible for some.

Art isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Vegas unless you’re familiar with the term kitsch. However, Sin City has always looked to please almost every palate and many impressive art exhibitions and theatre are proving to be a worthy alternative to the neon lights of the slots. You may head to old Vegas for a cheap dinner and a show but have you ever thought of dinner and a Picasso? At Picasso in the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, you can dine beneath the original paintings by Picasso himself. It’ll certainly cost you at Julian Serrano’s restaurant and you may even feel as though you end up paying for one of the masterpieces upon the wall but the food and service are memorable. Try to get a table near the windows or outside on the patio for a view of the fountains. Can’t afford an entire meal but love Picasso? Head to the bar for a drink.

Cerrillos, New Mexico was the center of the turquoise mining trade in the late 1800’s, and almost became New Mexico’s capital. The Clear Light Opera House was built to house performances by East Coast luminaries like Sarah Bernhardt. One of the ghost towns repopulated by artists along the now famous Turquoise Trail, it’s a great day trip from nearby Santa Fe. Check out the Trading Post, pet a llama, and visit artist Bill Skrip’s sculptures.