Search results for

Ranging from historic riads to big-name resorts, hotels in the Red City are as magical as you’d imagine, with unique amenities like luxurious hammams, central courtyard pools, and rooftop terraces with sweeping views of the Atlas Mountains. Whether you want a place with mint tea, traditional Moroccan décor, or a restaurant once frequented by Winston Churchill, you can find it here, all in close proximity to attractions like the Jardin Majorelle, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Djemaa el Fna Square, Bahia Palace, and the Saadiens Tombs.

Located in the northwest corner of France, the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine are at once proudly French and slightly German. Here, you’ll find traditionally French attractions like soaring cathedrals, manicured parks, and art nouveau mansions, but you’ll also encounter half-timbered houses, historic breweries, and lots and lots of sauerkraut. Visit cities like Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, and Colmar and you may find yourself wondering what country you’re in, or ride a bike over the Pont de l’Europe and see both France and Germany in one day.

Orlando is well-known not only for theme parks, but for some of the best shopping in Central Florida, at outlet stores and factory shops, and if you head to shopping enclaves like Winter Park Village, Thornton Park, and College Park, or to the Mall at Millenia, you can also find luxury goods, locally designed clothes and even cigars. Venture further into Orlando North and Lake Mary. Even the theme parks, too, have upped their game with quality souvenirs, sometimes crafted right before their eyes in the shops at Disney Springs and Universal City Walk.

One would be hard pressed to find a country more steeped in history, culture, and religious tradition than Israel. Once there, you’ll find a vibrant mix of modernity and antiquity, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern philosophies and practices, and dramatic landscapes. A major focal point for three of the world’s major religions, the spiritual weight and sanctity of the city is almost palpable in the winding streets of Jerusalem.

If you only have three days in Seattle, dive into the PNW groove. Visit Pike Place Market, ride the Ferris wheel or head to the top of the Space Needle to get some perspective on the layout of the city, eat fresh-caught shellfish and drink craft beer and coffee, hear some music, read some books, see some art, and start planning your next visit.

Spain’s capital offers the best of food, art, architecture, and nightlife. For the best address in town, book a stay at AC Palacio del Retiro, set on the Parque del Retiro. For Old World splendor and a star-studded past, check in to the Gran Meliá Fénix. Foodies will want to score a room at Hotel Hesperia Madrid, home to one of Spain’s top restaurants, while design lovers will appreciate the details—old and new—at Urso Hotel & Spa in the hip Salesas neighborhood.

Switzerland draws influence from neighboring countries France, Germany, and Italy to produce some of the most refined dining in Europe. From traditional mountainside restaurants serving up fondue, raclette, and rösti to exquisite inner-city dining in Zurich and Geneva, the Swiss simply excel at gastronomy. Explore Switzerland’s best alpine restaurants, seafood eateries, and melt-in-the-mouth Swiss cheese hotspots—including a few Michelin-starred treats along the way.

We’ve all heard about Sydney’s biggest cultural attractions like the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but how about a convict island turned event site or the local theater that launched the careers of Mel Gibson and Cate Blanchett? Sydney’s best cultural attractions are world-class and getting better every day. Contemporary favorites include Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary art, while the Art Gallery of New South Wales has one of Sydney’s best aboriginal art collections.

Whether you want to stay by the Pacific coast, on the Caribbean side, or in the capital city, Panama offers visitors a wide range of accommodations, from beach resorts to rainforest lodgings to urban hotels. Relax by the beach on Isla Boca Brava, bird-watch from your bedroom in Soberanía National Park, or spend the night in trendy Casco Viejo.

A visit to Dubrovnik can give you a glimpse of an older Europe, one with ancient Roman sites and medieval stone walls, with charming cobbled streets and sunny market squares and the blue Adriatic Sea glittering beyond. Savor your time here by walking the city walls, toasting the sunset from a terrace bar, shopping for local crafts and delicacies, and falling in love with the “Pearl of the Adriatic.”

Philadelphia, famous as a historic city, is more than a dusty archive of Americana. World-class museums, thriving markets, busy streets full of shops and terrific restaurants: Visitors may come to see the Liberty Bell, but they’ll fall for Philly.

This hotel has changed ownership and is now the Ambassador Chicago.

In 2011, hotelier Ian Schrager reopened the iconic but faded Ambassador East Hotel as the Public, instantly infusing Chicago‘s Gold Coast with some flash. Its Pump Room restaurant was the city’s first posh, post-Prohibition, celebrity hangout (everyone from Fred Astaire to John Belushi has come). Keeping its name but little of the old decor, the revitalized Pump Room has a 24-foot bar with a 12-karat white gold–leaf ceiling and a changing menu by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The high-ceilinged, columned lobby feels both grand and intimate, and it’s now divided into a lounge with a computer-equipped workstation and an elegant library/coffee bar with deep couches and original art, including photos by Hendrik Kersten. Residential high-rises along Lake Shore Drive obscure views of Lake Michigan from the hotel, but drop-dead gorgeous rooms elegantly infuse the pre-WWII architecture with white stuffed couches, bronze textiles, and white sheepskin throws for an effect of lush minimalism befitting one of the city’s oldest and toniest neighborhoods.

While scouting out the remaining lighthouses left standing on the Oregon coast, I was lucky enough time my visit with two gray whales. There’s a vintage whale watching station just across the parking lot at the Umpqua River Lighthouse and with a few quarters, I was able to see the action. By flipping through my guidebooks, I learned that morning is the best time to scout for the views of the mighty whales, that like to hang out at the mouth of the Umpqua River where it empties into the ocean. In the morning light, the sun is at your back at the viewing station, meaning you can spot the whitecaps that the whales create (instead of the ones that the wind and waves create later in the day). At the station, you’ll find a sign with a few helpful suggestions to spot these magnificent creatures. You’re instructed to look for puffs of vapor that seem to hang in the air, just above the water. Those spouts usually rise twelve to fifteen feet into the air and when you spot one, you’re bound to see several in the same area. Soon, you’ll be able to observe the head, back and flukes as the whales roll on the surface.

The three floors of art on display at the Ogden, one of a handful of museums in the city’s off-the-radar museum district near Lee Circle, run the gamut from Clementine Hunter’s paintings of plantation life to Shelby Lee Adam’s photographs of Appalachia. The medium varies, but everything on display has some tie to the South.

Legoland has quickly become Atlanta‘s top attraction for kids. Located in Phipps Plaza, the city’s shopping mecca, families can purchase all the Lego products next door at the store before exploring the discovery center. It includes Lego replicas of famous Atlanta landmarks, interactive rides, and the chance to build your own masterpiece.