Accor isn't always top of mind for U.S. travelers considering where to book a hotel stay.
15.12.2023 - 00:41 / nationalgeographic.com
An Aboriginal healer, dressed as a Jedi and wielding a glowing blue boomerang like a lightsaber, beckons to me. Inching my way along the shadowy corridor of Flinders Street Station’s third floor, I find twisted tree roots carved into haunting sculptures, ancient spirits cast in red neon lights, and an ochre termite mound rising from the centre of a cavernous ballroom. A woman’s mournful singing floats in the darkness.
The art installations are captivating, but each room I pass is also a time capsule, preserving small moments from a 113-year-old building — Australia’s oldest railway station. Errant brushstrokes left by painters. Scrawled phone numbers from trespassers. Antique vaults anchored to the floor of former offices.
With its arresting French Renaissance architecture and turquoise copper dome, Flinders Street Station in central Melbourne has become a recurring icon on postcards and T-shirts. But few know about the building’s past as the epicentre of the city’s social life.
In its heyday, the 11 rooms that make up the station’s top floor — which included a gymnasium, smoking room and library — were a hive of activity. At its centre was the ballroom, which hosted boxing and, in the aftermath of the First World War, jubilant dance parties. Tired with age and falling into disrepair, the ballroom saw its last dance in 1983. Locked shut, it fell out of public memory and into urban legend. But nearly 40 years on, the space has been restored and reopened to host evocative shows that are part of Rising, Melbourne’s annual contemporary art festival.
Curator of the event’s Shadow Spirit exhibition, Kimberley Moulton is a Yorta Yorta woman, whose ancestors came from the Murray River area of Victoria and New South Wales. Her show is an exploration of the Aboriginal spiritual world that melds traditional knowledge with elements of pop culture. Kimberley’s boots click on the floorboards as she guides me from room to room, explaining the layers of meaning in each artwork: “I believe spaces and objects hold energy, and you can really feel that in this building.”
She jumped at the opportunity to present her people’s culture in one of Melbourne’s most revered colonial buildings: “I’m interested in seeing art outside institutional spaces like museums. By exhibiting here, we’re leaning into the architecture of the space as well as its history.
“The land we’re standing on was, and still is, an important meeting place for Aboriginal people before a train station was built on it.”
The revival of Flinders Street Station’s third floor is a high-profile example of how new life is being breathed into Melbourne’s forgotten spaces. Enterprising businesses — from tattoo artists to cheesemongers — have moved into the
Accor isn't always top of mind for U.S. travelers considering where to book a hotel stay.
New non-stop flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Verona (Italy), Narvik-Lofoten Islands (Norway) and Kalamata (Greece). Resumption of service to Minneapolis (Minnesota, USA). Extension through summer of service to Raleigh-Durham (North Carolina, USA), Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and Tromsø (Norway).
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When you walk into Baldwin & Co., a bookstore and coffee shop in New Orleans's lively Marigny neighborhood, you feel not only at ease but also inspired. Owner DJ Johnson was intentional in his curation of the hybrid space, which has hosted community gatherings since it opened in early 2021. “I wanted to provide nourishment for the soul of New Orleans,” says Johnson, who spent several years in Atlanta pursuing a career in information technology before returning to the city where he grew up. He's done just that by turning the lovingly renovated storefront, once a po'boy shop, into a hub for the city's Black and Brown writers, artists, and creatives. Johnson finds his own sustenance in the city's eclectic and ever-expanding art and music scenes, from dancing along to big, brassy jazz bands to visiting galleries that celebrate the city's enduring African American heritage. Here's how he spends 48 hours in the Big Easy.
Times Square in New York City and Sydney Harbour are justly famous for their New Years Eve celebrations. But for those who don’t cherish the prospect of being elbow-to-elbow with a million other revelers, here are eight alternative (and very cool) places to ring in the new year.
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“Creating a new home for Café Boulud has been my focus and priority for the last year,” Chef Daniel Boulud explains. “Given the special place it holds in my heart, I feel very fortunate to be able to bring it back to the Upper East Side and look forward to sharing it with our guests, The restaurant will be a vibrant celebration of my French roots and love for New York.”
Every New Year’s Eve, New York City’s Times Square gets a lot of attention with its famous ball drop. However, there are other destinations across the United States with events bringing in the new year in a memorable fashion. They go beyond using the traditional-looking ball by instead lowering objects reflecting their heritage or location. Here are 10 locations with unique versions of New Year’s Eve ball drops.
A European country has taken over the top spot as the world’s most powerful passport, according to a new index by VisaGuide.World. As of December, the Spanish passport has claimed first place from Singapore, a new study by the visa advice website has found.
Walking inside the sustainable, wellness-minded 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, the outdoors and indoors appear to seamlessly merge, thanks to stellar views of the hotel’s namesake bridge hovering over the East River, lower Manhattan and neighboring DUMBO; alongside calming interiors, earthy neutrals, reclaimed woods, plenty of natural light and native leafy greens (which seemingly pop in every nook and cranny).
When it comes to trends, expedition cruises are the gift that keeps on giving. New Zealand’s fascinating wildlife and ecosystem, the US’s plethora of iconic national parks, and Madagascar’s paradisical diving and hiking sites — these are just some of the exhilarating expedition cruises new for 2024 and beyond. We whittle down nine of our favourites.
Anyone looking for the best train trips in Europe to rival flying was given a boost by the reopening of the Paris-Berlin night train this month. Likewise, it's good news for travelers passing under the English Channel, as many new train startups are throwing their hat in the ring to operate this route.