Seen from Paris’s Pont de la Tournelle, the eight-story facade of the landmark restaurant La Tour d’Argent looks about the same as it did when its third-generation owner André Terrail grew up there in the 1980s, deploying toy parachutists into quayside traffic. But the interior is no longer indifferent to the 21st century: Late last month, La Tour d’Argent reopened its doors after a yearlong renovation led by the Paris-based architect Franklin Azzi. “It’s my Tour,” says Terrail, who took over following his father’s death in 2006. “The same, but more exacting, more thoughtful.” The new look draws on the outsize history of the classically French fine-dining institution, which has been serving diners since 1582, taking particular inspiration from the streamlined motifs of its Art Deco era. On the seventh floor, the redesigned restaurant — overseen since 2020 by executive chef Yannick Franques — functions more than ever as a theater. The airy dining room, in shades of indigo and silver, looks onto an open-plan kitchen and an elevated platform where the restaurant’s signature pressed-duck dish is prepared nightly. Upstairs and downstairs are new bars suited to less formal occasions: Le Bar des Maillets d’Argent, an all-day lounge with a fireplace, andLe Toit de la Tour, a rooftop terrace. Given that it has the welcoming air of a boutique hotel, it’s no wonder that the building can now host overnight visitors in a private apartment on the fifth floor, complete with a touch of Scandinavian-style minimalism attributable, in part, to Terrail’s Finnish mother.
Cuba Tourism Faces Shortages of Visitors and Supplies
25.08.2023 - 14:07 / skift.com / Donald Trump
British birdwatcher Harriet Babeo arrived at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs earlier this week and promptly racked up 80 species for her list including the world’s smallest hummingbird and the elusive red, white and blue Cuban trogon, rarities found only the island.
Far more challenging, she told Reuters, was hunting down a few liters of gasoline for her group’s rental car.
“We’ve gone … three days now, and (the service stations) have had nothing,” Babeo said over breakfast, binoculars and bird book near at hand, at a private home-stay on Cuba’s serene Bay of Pigs.
Tourists like Babeo who spoke with Reuters often raved about their experience in Cuba, praising the country’s hospitality, culture and weather. But increasingly, says Paolo Spadoni, an economist with Augusta University, visitors must confront the realities of Cuba’s economic crisis – the worst in decades – an ominous headwind as the country struggles to breathe new life into its all-important tourism sector.
“If you see how slow the recovery of the Cuban tourism sector is compared to other countries, it tells you there are deeper problems,” Spadoni said.
Cuba in 2022 received 1.6 million visitors, just 38% of the 4.3 million who traveled to the island in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Neighboring Dominican Republic, meanwhile, saw 7.2 million visitors in 2022, up 11.1% over 2019.
Policies implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump have scared off many tourists, Spadoni said. Trump ended cruise ship dockings and flights from the United States and put travelers of other nationalities who visited the island at risk of complicating entry to the United States.
But Cuba’s centrally planned economy, he said, has also failed to ensure adequate infrastructure and supply chains to serve those who still venture forth, souring some visitors and making it “very unlikely” Cuba will hit its goal of 3.5 million visitors in 2023.
“It’s a combination of things that create more and more problems just traveling to Cuba and in the end, many just decide to go somewhere else,” Spadoni said.
The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cuba reported 246,000 visitors in January, a slower start to the year than likely necessary to hit its targets, but far better than the first month of 2022, when only 86,400 tourists arrived.
Part of the Experience
Large, state-owned hotels in Havana and on sandy keys offshore account for much of Cuba’s tourism revenue, official statistics show.
But at Playa Larga, a palm-fringed white sand beach deep inside the Bay of Pigs, small private homeowners still fight for their share of tourists, offering home-cooked meals, cozy rooms and Cuban hospitality.
Amauri Lugo, who runs a small home-stay near the beach, said even
Rescuers in the Arctic tried and failed to free a 343-foot luxury cruise ship that's run aground, using a boat that's half its size
Rescuers failed to free a luxury cruise that got stuck in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, with a smaller boat on Wednesday.
Over 200 people are stuck in a remote part of Greenland after their luxury cruise ship ran aground. Their rescuers in the Arctic say the 'nearest help is far away.'
A luxury cruise carrying 206 passengers is now stuck in a remote part of Greenland after it ran aground.
TUI Relaunches First Choice Travel Brand
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Would you wait hours in line at Disney World to meet a cartoon character?
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Brightline delays Orlando debut again, with earliest possible start date set for Sept. 22
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Celebrate Fall in Orlando - Over 90 Days of Halloween Thrills, Foodie Festivals and Cultural Events
Orlando is gearing up for an extraordinary autumn filled with Halloween thrills and fall festivities. With 93 days of frightful scares and family-friendly fun at theme parks and attractions, savory culinary experiences and vibrant cultural celebrations throughout the destination, Orlando presents an exceptional lineup of fall events for visitors of all ages. “From experiencing a taste of our dining scene at a discounted price to the Halloween thrills that you can only find in the Halloween Vacation Capital, Orlando offers something for every traveler this fall,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO for Visit Orlando. “Lively local events, ranging from our local LGBTQ+ pride celebration to our Hispanic heritage celebration, round out the diverse offerings.”
Better Than Ever And Open To The Public: Inside Waldorf Astoria Washington DC
When I lived in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2005, I didn’t pay much attention to the Old Post Office Building. The Romanesque Revival-style structure taking up over an entire Pennsylvania Avenue block certainly had a commanding presence with its imposing clock tower, which offered incredible views of the city. But mostly, it was a tourist stop.
The Most Luxurious Place to Stay In Northern Ireland
As any jaded traveler will tell you, there are some stays that are luxurious and a great experience, and there are others— albeit few and far between- that leave you blown away.
Skiathos island, Greece: Unique by Nature
Named after its unique forests, as Skiathos means the rich shade of the trees, the island has the same name and has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century BC.
The Sharing Economy and the Tourism Industry Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges
The book, by Roya Rahimi, Babak Taheri, and Dimitrios Buhalis, is an essential volume for anyone researching the sharing economy and wishing to learn more about and delve into the impact it has had and will have on the tourism industry and the wider tourism economy.