22 places chef and adventurer Anthony Bourdain loved best

22.06.2024 - 08:19 / lonelyplanet.com / Anthony Bourdain

Jun 21, 2024 • 9 min read

Chef, documentarian, wit extraordinaire and one of the most unforgettable travelers ever, Anthony Bourdain left a legacy that continues to resonate years after his death.

On “Bourdain Day” – June 25, his birthday – we celebrate his legacy of fearless, frank and flavorful travel by spotlighting 22 destinations all over the world that he visited and perhaps loved best.

“It’s something really special to be thrilled by ruins – hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck-excited by a view.” – Anthony Bourdain

Aside from admiring the temples and ruins of Myanmar, Bourdain paid a visit to a Yangon tea shop. Philippe Lajaunie, the owner of Brasserie Les Halles, where Bourdain previously worked as a chef, took him to a full-moon festival, and the pair boarded a train for a 600km (375-mile) trip to Bagan that took over 19 hours.

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“There’s a lot of delicious food. The place is, as one would expect, gorgeous.” – Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain visited the Greek island of Naxos, where he drank raki with the local residents and dove around an early-20th-century shipwreck. He also traveled to the mountainous village of Apiranthos, where he attended a traditional celebration in the town square.

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“Of all the American cities, this is easily one of the most awesome.” – Anthony Bourdain

The celebrity chef pondered Detroit’s storied past at the famed Packard Plant and examined the current state of the city’s decaying infrastructure. He featured firefighters, volunteer park workers, cafe owners and a high-end chef, all to highlight the promise of the future through the citizens who are rebuilding their communities.

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“You will see food porn in this week’s episode so epic, so enticing, so devastating in its richness, flavors and sheer volume as to endanger the life.” – Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain sampled local delicacies in Montréal and Québec City and explored ice fishing on the St Lawrence River. While in Québec, he dined at Le Continental and at L’Affaire est Ketchup, a quirky kitchen and restaurant where the chef cooks on two four-burner electric stoves.

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“It takes a special breed of hard-ass to not just make it down here, but like it. You got to be tough.” – Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain’s Antarctica adventure included a helicopter ride over an active volcano, visiting a colony of Adele penguins and hanging out with the scientists who live in extreme and surreal conditions at McMurdo Station. In an environment with no access to fresh food, fruits or vegetables, he enjoyed the rations prepared by camp manager Rae Spain.

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