Search results for

Reykjavík’s old harbor, built between 1913 and 1917, has seen quite the transformation in recent years, morphing from a mainly functional area dominated by ships and their fishermen to a lively, modern tourism area that’s almost a new city district of its own. The sparkling, award-winning Harpa concert hall and conference center has dominated the area since it opened in 2011, and several restaurants and cafés, along with offices, now line the harbor promenade, interspersed with the occasional cultural spot such as the fascinating Reykjavík Maritime Museum. The boats, trawlers, and whaling ships are still there, of course, and remain a big part of the atmosphere, but they’re today joined by a number of tourist boats offering whale-watching and puffin tours.

Of the many galleries in San Jose del Cabo, Galeria Corsica is one of the finest, having been established for over a decade and with outposts in Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City. The gallery specializes in the work of contemporary Mexican artists, including renowned sculptor Jorge Marin and surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, an expat who made Mexico her home for most of her adult life. A wide variety of other artists and genres are represented as well. Seasoned collectors and beginning collectors alike will find plenty of compelling pieces.

The rainy or cold weather can make walking down the famous Strøget in Copenhagen, Denmark in the off-season a little tiring. There’s a little bit of magic just off the main walking street in the form of the Royal Cafe. The high pink walls and large windows let in a lot of light, which reflects off the artfully placed mirrors and display glasses. Rest on funky-patterned seats at small or large community tables and order a coffee or a custom smørrebrød known as a “Smushie” to warm up.

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx, this expansive park was meant to be an improvement to Central Park in New York City. Home to an impressive amphitheater, museums, water bodies, and lots of paths with some impressive landscaping, it’s well worth a visit. Come for a stroll, jog, picnic, open air concert or bike voyage on a Sunday. Various food vendors are strewn throughout with agua de coco and snacks. It’s best to check the website for events if you’ll be visiting on a weekend.

The Old Man and the Sea in Savaneta is an ideal place for a romantic island dining experience, amid the ‘clicking palms,’ overlooking the water. Feel the sand beneath your feet, and listen to the waves gently lapping the shoreline as you enjoy a sunset supper in an intimate setting.

The beach may be the magnet that draws crowds to Trancoso but its the Quadrado that is the heart of the town. The town square sits atop a hilltop offering stunning views of the mangrove forest and sea below. The 1,050-feet-long green park is anchored by the town’s iconic white church and bordered by 50 or so Crayola-colored old fisherman houses. During the day most of the homes stay shuttered due to the heat. But by 5pm, particularly during the peak summer season, they open their doors to reveal chic boutiques and art galleries, restaurants, and pousadas like Uxua and El Gordo. At sunset wild horses graze in the square sometimes interrupt the local kids’ soccer game. The square is filled with crowds after sunset, and artists and artisans come out to sells their goods while musicians come to play music and capoiera dancers come entertain passersby.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~ Marcel Proust. For my inaugural highlight on AFAR, I am starting with my wife’s favorite quote, and a local sight in Chicago. Sometimes people feel they must jet off to some far off exotic place in order to ‘travel.’ However, if you gaze anew at your immediate surroundings with fresh eyes, you will discover an entire host of wonderful surprises. Here we have Cloud Gate, located down in Millennium Park, back before they buffed out the seams. The contrast between the organic form of ‘the bean’ and the structured grid lines, along with the warped fun house mirror quality of the city, makes this a truly unique destination.

Sometimes overshadowed by more glamorous southern French cities, Montpellier comes as a surprise to many visitors when they stroll its lovely medieval old town, filled with boutiques and bistros, and with the vibrancy of university life in the air. In an enormous renovated mansion, the Musée Fabre has vaulted to major-art-museum status with a collection of French masters like Poussin and painters from the Fauvist movement, as well as a notable decorative arts collection.

Why we love it: A food-focused retreat in the scenic Willowemoc Valley

The Highlights:

• 600 acres of private land for hiking, fishing, and more
• A nine-course dinner included with each stay
• Cozy common spaces for soaking up the peace and quiet

The Review:
Set on a ledge overlooking the Willowemoc Valley and its namesake river, The DeBruce brings a touch of sophistication to an otherwise quiet corner of the Catskills. Here, in a restored inn from the 1880s, guests find 14 modest rooms spread over three floors. Designed to create a sense of calm, all feature down duvets, Sferra linens, and tile-and-marble bathrooms stocked with Malin & Goetz toiletries, while some also include clawfoot tubs and expansive views of the surrounding scenery. Guests spend little time in their rooms, however, as The DeBruce is home to several cozy common spaces, including the Great Room (filled with antique couches and wingback chairs), the Conservatory (with an original fieldstone fireplace and comfy reading chair), and a serene pool (surrounded by lounge chairs, a firepit, and manicured gardens). The property also sits on nearly 600 acres of private land, which spans two mountains, a river, and several ponds. Simply walk over the private bridge for access to trails for hiking, birding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, as well as a half-mile of river for fly fishing.

At the center of all of this is the restaurant—a glass-walled dining room overlooking the valley, where guests enjoy the a la carte breakfasts and multiple-course dinners included in their stay (one night is always a nine-course tasting menu). Chef Aksel Theilkuhl, formerly of BLT Steak Group in New York City, draws from a bounty of local, seasonal products for every meal, impressing with dishes like smoked trout and mushroom three ways. Should guests prefer something more casual, there’s also the Club Room in the basement, where Theilkuhl serves bar classics and small plates in an intimate setting. For more insight into The DeBruce’s culinary program, sign up for sessions with Theilkuhl and help with kitchen prep, sample new dishes, or forage the hotel grounds for ramps and more. Other activities like Pilates and yoga classes, exploratory nature walks, and fly-fishing lessons are also on offer, giving guests plenty of ways to while away their days in the Catskills.

Overall:
Housed in a restored 19th-century inn, the 14-room DeBruce is a warren of cozy common spaces that invite travelers to linger in wingback chairs next to stone fireplaces or chat on porch swings hung from the verandah. Guests may take a dip in the outdoor pool or join a fly-fishing or foraging excursion, but the main event is dinner. Chef Aksel Theilkuhl, formerly of BLT Steak Group in New York City, serves a nightly tasting menu in a 32-seat dining room facing the lodge’s ponds and rolling hills.

Most of the year, Punta Cana’s white, sandy stretches of sand are blessed with gently lapping surf, which means that night swimming isn’t as dangerous or daunting an exercise as it can be on other Caribbean islands. Slip into the water near the Westin’s covered pier, and have the ocean all to yourself. Under the bright light of a full moon, you might even catch a glimpse of a sea turtle inching its way along the beach.

Hit Seven Mile Beach, a beautiful and—as the name would suggest—long stretch of shoreline to see why it’s one of the Cayman Islands’ most fabled features. Facing out to sea, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were beholding a life-size Rothko installation, with bands of the palest aqua, the richest cobalt and every gradation of blue-green in between. Also keep an eye out for the schools of fish that sprint along the water parallel to the shore.

From the Adirondack chairs lazily spread across the pier and the seafood restaurant’s waterfront deck, it’d be easy to confuse the Hotel J for somewhere in New England. Even the rooms are decked out in a healthy dose of Americana, with tasteful white cotton and stars-and-stripes accompanying the natural wood furnishings and nautical memorabilia. And the seafood-focused restaurant—which, frankly, feels like a luxury yacht—channels American favorites in its brasserie-style menu.


But, fear not, the Hotel J is also very Swedish. Located on Nacka Strand 20 minutes from Stockholm, it capitalizes on the Swedes’ love of boating, especially in the summer months, when the archipelago’s 30,000 islands become day trip and vacation destinations for the entire city. Not only is it affiliated with a local kayak and canoe rental center—just ask if you’d like to spend a day on the water—but the ferry to and from Stockholm stops in front of the restaurant, allowing city dwellers to make pilgrimages to the eatery at will. The hotel’s sprawling, wooded grounds, too, are exceptionally Swedish, especially with the 19th-century summer mansions that dot them; most are used as event spaces now, but don’t let that curb your exploring.

Outside of Carnival time, you’ll find very little in the Caribbean that’s actually open 24/7. Major hotels and resorts are the exception, of course, though even they don’t usually offer much of anything to eat that doesn’t come by way of room service.

Not so at the Jamaica Pegasus. One of Kingston’s leading business hotels, the Pegasus is where I found the 24 Seven Cafe.

It was ungodly late... Saturday night... the jerk chicken I’d devoured earlier in the evening a distant memory.

24 Seven Cafe to the rescue! Sandwiches, muffins, sweets, and what must be some of Kingston’s finest ice cream are all on offer here anytime, day or night.

Drink selections range from coffee, tea, sodas headlined by the local fave Ting to Red Stripe and a few other beers for those who want to keep the party going. 24 Seven Cafe is located in the lobby of the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. Night owls won’t want to miss it.

The mountainous Coron Island, just northeast of Palawan, is part of the officially designated ancestral domain of the indigenous Tagbanua people (possibly descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines). They steward the land and sea, and control access to the island, much of which is off-limits to visitors. There is still plenty to attract travelers to the area, though: a small, sleepy town and clear lakes; limestone rock formations; and white-sand beaches. Those lucky enough to be welcomed into a Tagbanua community can learn about their culture and how they spearfish, as well as the special techniques for harvesting octopuses, seaweed, and sea cucumbers. For snorkelers, Siete Pecados offers rich coral reefs and the chance to spot dugongs, giant hawksbill turtles, and baby sharks. Divers can also hope to get a glimpse of puffer fish, eels, and giant clams. As well as the diverse marine life, there are numerous Japanese shipwrecks from World War II on view underwater. Add in the visibility of up to 80 feet, and this area is a superb playground for diving enthusiasts.

Clearly not designed by, or for, shrinking violets, Klapsons is as bold in its decor and colors as in its ambition to stand out among the buttoned-down business district hotels. The hotel’s moniker might sound futuristic but is based on names of the owner’s family. Furnishings by Zaha Hadid (the lobby’s Moraine sofa) and Marcel Wanders (polycarbonate stools) keep the interiors lively and au courant. The street-level lobby, visible through a facade of glass, is all bright furniture and curvilinear forms, with pops of white, orange, red, neon blue, and off-kilter lampshades. Reception sits in an elevated, stair-accessed pod of highly polished stainless steel that looks primed for blast-off. A wall of wire mesh in the lobby adds an industrial element to the otherwise retro-future montage. Rooms continue the provocative vein with punches of brightness—on a bed throw, a Plexiglas table, a plush carpet—and kooky showers, some of them glass-enclosed stalls in the middle of the living space, others open-cube-shaped with color-changing LED lights.