Bowman’s Travel Brief: The Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus

You don’t hear about Central Florida very often, and when you do, chances are it has something to do with Walt Disney World. But just over an hour north of the famed resort complex is the mid-sized city of Ocala, a destination bursting with superlatives, including “America’s largest spring” and “horse capital of the world.”

While most American cities aren’t considered easy to navigate by foot, a recent study by travel insurance experts AllClear ranked one popular Southern city as the most walkable in the country. AllClear examined topographical information for more than 240 cities around the world, taking into account average elevation and range, and assigned each city a score — and ultimately, it was New Orleans that was named the most walkable city in the U.S. and the fourth most walkable city globally.

Europe dominates in a new ranking of the world’s most beautiful cities, filling nine of the top 10 spots.

As someone who's traveled to over 40 countries, there was one thing I never checked off my travel bucket list: flying business class. I always walked past the lie-flat seats and dreamed one day I would be able to.

Landal GreenParks UK, the UK’s fastest growing company offering holiday breaks in nature, has seen a 24% YoY increase in summer bookings driven by longer staycations in the Southwest region.

Aug 7, 2024 • 8 min read

The Netherlands is famous for its capital city, Amsterdam, but the country has much more to offer visitors.

An anti-cruise rebellion is afoot in popular tourism destinations in Greece.

Qatar Airways has gone back and forth on what to do with its Airbus A380s.

Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast!

Aug 2, 2024 • 11 min read

Amid the cafes and boutiques of Athens’s Kolonaki neighborhood is a housewares shop that’s also a showcase for Greek craftsmanship. It’s the first brick-and-mortar location for Crini & Sophia, the brand that the former interior and set designer Maya Zafeiropoulou-Martinou founded in 2022. Its wood-and-rattan shelves, two-tone marble floors and furniture are all made by Greek artists, while one window is decorated with a vinelike steel and spray-paint piece by the Cypriot sculptor Socrates Socratous. The shop’s goods are designed by Zafeiropoulou-Martinou, whose inspirations include the colors in Francis Bacon paintings and the Amazon rainforest. Linens are produced in Portugal before being embroidered in Greece with patterns that often take cues from antiques on view at Athens’s Benaki Museum. Hand-painted ceramics and glassware are made in partnership with artisans in New York, Greece, Italy and France. When it comes to designing your own table, Zafeiropoulou-Martinou encourages layering. “The pattern isn’t just the plate or the tablecloth,” she says of her pieces, “but a puzzle of the two on top of each other.”