Hidden Treasures
Marrakesh, Morocco
You’ll get much cheaper hammam services—which include traditional gommage, or scrub treatment, with Morocco’s famous savon noir—in the souks than you will at the Amanjena’s lovely spa. But there’s something to be said for the privacy afforded...
33 Rue Yves Saint Laurent, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Located right across the street from the popular Jardin Majorelle, 33 Rue Majorelle takes the Marrakesh souk experience, adds a gloss of Euro chic, and plops it into an air-conditioned, cement-floored boutique. It’s a bit upscale, but it's a...
Rahba Kedima, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Argan oil is celebrated for its skin-nourishing properties. It’s also hugely expensive when bought outside Morocco, so this cosmetic wonder is pretty much a no-brainer for any Marrakesh shopping list. Inside the medina, argan products are not hard...
Rahba Kedima, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
I sampled tagines from a half-dozen places in Marrakesh, including fancy restaurants, and the succulent chicken tagine at Bakshish, an unassuming and bohemian-flavored café in the souk, topped them all. It’s a nice spot to take a break from...
Wonokitri, Ledok Sari, Tosari, Pasuruan, Jawa Timur, Indonesia
It's a trek that brings thousands of visitors to Indonesia every year. Wake up when it is still dark, ride in a jeep over unkept dirt roads, sleep-closed eyes barely taking in the throngs of vehicles, horses and animals that compete for space on...
Each Spring the Paro Festival or Tsechu takes place in Paro, Bhutan. The festival is a wonderful event to witness. Masked, barefoot dancers jump and twirl, while trying to subdue evil spirits and celebrate the teachings of Buddha. The event takes...
Opposite Govt College Of Engineering, 54, Wellesley Road, Baluchi Vasti, Shivajinagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411005, India
“What better way to understand yoga than to travel to its birthplace?” says Katie Christ. Two years ago, the food stylist put her life in San Francisco on hold to spend two months studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga...
Central America
Anamaya is located in Montezuma, Costa Rica. This image is taken from their extremely tranquil yoga deck, where guests practice twice a day. This hidden gem is affordable, has gorgeous cabanas, and serves the best vegetarian food I've ever had....
4 Robert Speck Pkwy, Mississauga, ON L4Z 1S1, Canada
Curvaceous and eye appealing, the 'Marilyn Monroe' towers never ceases to amaze me with it's brilliant architecture design by Ma Yansong.
4, India Exchange Place, Murgighata, BBD Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal 700001, India
Guanyin, the goddess of mercy and war had been blessing the immigrant Chinese population at Kolkata for the past century. Sea Ip Church is one of the six Chinese churches at Tiretta Bazaar. I was thrown away by trucks and water jars at first, but...
Carlos Pl, Mayfair, London W1K 2AL, UK
At this lacquer box of a bar in Mayfair’s luxurious Connaught Hotel, white-gloved bartenders whisk over a martini trolley to create the drink tableside. Guests customize the martini with their choice of gin and homemade single-fragrance...
69 Colebrooke Row, London N1 8AA, UK
In this tiny, unmarked bar on a quiet Islington corner, bartending expert Tony Conigliaro engineers classic cocktails using newfangled scientific equipment. Tannic grape seed essence, distilled in the bar’s laboratory two streets away,...
1C Portland Pl, Marylebone, London W1B 1JA, UK
On weekend nights, The Palm Court at the Langham Hotel, London’s classic spot for afternoon tea, transforms into a speakeasy-style gin bar. Sipsmith’s Jared Brown (featured in the October 2012 issue) worked with the Langham’s mixologist, Alex...
1 Hamilton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J 7QY, UK
This bar at the InterContinental Park Lane Hotel in the Mayfair neighborhood celebrates London’s gin-soaked history with 35 varieties of British-made gin. The Poor Man’s Punch, served in a teapot, pays tribute to posh Mayfair’s scrappier past;...
HaCarmel St 11, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
On every trip I love to get the freshest spices and teas to take home with me. Always busy but an absolute "must do" even if you are not a foodie. In this mostly open air market, there is an abundance of local foods, drinks and crafts for...
103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, USA
A must visit, must do for any visitor or resident of NYC. Not your typical museum experience, the Tenement Museum walks you through history and explores subject such as immigration, discrimination, housing and the history of the neighborhood...
8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL, UK
Monmouth in Borough Market has the most divine coffee. The coffee is so sweet and smooth you don't need to add sugar. They also serve fresh breads and jams on long communal tables inside.
47 Villiers St, London WC2N 6NE, UK
Cozy atmosphere and no electric lights, just candles in a cellar underground....
555 Shanghai St, Mong Kok, Hong Kong
The Langham Place Hotel is a sleek, 42-floor tower filled with more than 1,500 pieces of modern Chinese art, including works by Wang Guangyi and Yue Minjun. Take the free iPod tour for insights, and don’t miss Alannala Lau’s chrysanthemum...
Prinsengracht 587, 1016 HT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam-based designer Marcel Wanders transformed the city’s old public library into a hotel with a delft-pottery color scheme. Perks include Wanders-designed bikes.
1170 Broadway, New York, NY 10001, USA
The new NoMad Hotel in New York is my new favorite place in the city. Designed by Jaques Garcia (of the Hotel Costes in Paris) it really feels like somewhere other than New York. Like Paris. Amazingly nice and genuine people. Incredible new...
22 Great Chapel St, Soho, London W1F 8FR, UK
More than 40 types of gin are offered at this Soho bar, which has its own gin club. Membership is free and includes access to rare gins. Read "London Distilled," about the first new gin distillery to be built in London in nearly 200 years.
116 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris, France
Paris wine shops routinely host free tastings, often led by the growers who make the wine. Paris by Mouth publishes a calendar of tastings, but two shops can be depended upon to have something interesting on the weekends: Les Caves Augé and La...
47 Rue de Babylone, 75007 Paris, France
The Paris café scene has always been compelling, but the actual café (coffee) is often forgettable. That's all changing, thanks to places like Coutume, Kookaboora and Telescope, where obsessive (and often mustachioed) baristas are redefining the...
44 Berry St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
If you live in NYC and you like to drink, then you've probably come across our local tradition of drinking Picklebacks. Picklebacks are a shot of whiskey (usually Jameson) and a chaser of fresh pickle juice. While it sounds disgusting, the...
150 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
One of my favorite coffee places in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is Bakeri. Well, it is not a spelling mistake. This is the name of the an artisanal bakery in the neighborhood, with a French feel in it.
Carrer del Consell de Cent, 292, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
Make sure to sample some hot drinking chocolate in Barcelona. I chose a mug from Cacao Sampaka, a gourmet chocolate shop where you'll find all sorts of delightful dessert concoctions. The rich, velvety drink is nothing like American hot chocolate....
1 Hamilton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J, UK
At the Arch Bar and Wellington Lounge in London's Park Lane Intercontinental Hotel, high tea is served without the tea. Order the Poor Man's Punch if you fancy gin and you may find you can never go back to drinking alcohol from a tumbler. Arriving...
84 Marylebone High St, Marylebone, London W1U 4QW, UK
This independent bookshop resembles the libraries of a bibliophile's dreams. The Edwardian exterior is beautiful and befitting of the elegant High Street, but the interior took my breath away: long oak shelves, stained glass, and skylights....
