Frank Sinatra travel tips

Described by BBC Radio as “the best jazz festival on the planet,” the annual EFG London Jazz Festival, created by international music producer Serious, provides the ideal antidote to November’s dreary weather and shorter days. With over 300 shows across more than 70 venues, including some stellar free gigs, this month’s festival attracted a live audience of over 100,000. The ten day, citywide event featured big names and major concert halls like Sergio Mendez at the Barbican and The Symphonic Music of Wayne Shorter at the Royal Festival Hall but perhaps the pure joy for jazz fans was the discovery of rising stars and lesser known musicians at more intimate locations. Here are few of the many highlights from this month’s festival and musicians to seek out at future gigs.

Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Penn and Teller. Gallagher and watermelons. Dynamic duos are nothing new for Las Vegas. What’s special about this latest power pairing, Toni Braxton and Cedric the Entertainer, is that they’re stars from different galaxies, joining forces for a unique Vegas show called “Love & Laughter.”

The skyline of New York City is famously stacked with skyscrapers that all but piece the heavens. Yet until recently, the chance to enjoy the view over a cocktail was a relative rarity.

Years ago, when I first strolled into Miami Beach’s swanky Fontainebleau, I felt a heightened pizzazz, aswirl in the kind of stimulating panache and prestige that trumpets: Pay attention! For travel lovers of glam getaways—especially those renowned as celeb and A-lister favorites—Fontainebleau Miami Beach is a legendary draw. Today, it continues to be a hotspot of cool goings-on, much expanded and revitalized again and again since its 1954 launch. A $1-billion makeover in 2008 wowed. “Every era of American history has its architectural touchstones, buildings that transcend their time and come to define a cultural moment,” says author Stephen Wallis in Fontainebleau, the newly published, silk-wrapped, oversized hardcover coffee table book (3.4-pounds) by luxury publisher Assouline, which celebrates the curvilinear-shaped resort’s illustrious past, present and forward leap. “The Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach is that kind of landmark,” he adds. “An instant sensation when it opened, it remains an enduring icon, repeatedly updated and evolving to this day.” With principal photography by Peter Arnell, who is Fontainebleau Development’s chief brand and design officer, this striking book highlights treasures and pleasures of the famous Florida oceanside symbol. Dive into its thick paper stock pages that are ripe with riveting photos and illustrations. Wallis engagingly writes about Fontainebleau’s history and mystery, deals and diversions, challenges and change-makers, imagination and innovation.

It's fun (and maybe a little bit too easy) to get married in Las Vegas — the city that's long held the title of "wedding capital of the world."

You’ll know you’ve arrived at L’Escargot once you spot the vintage-style, neon lights spelling out its name, and notice the plaster bust of a person riding a giant snail above the door (it turns out this is the famous restaurant’s founder, Charles Gaudin, sat astride a giant gastropod). With its creaking stairs, top-floor, plant-filled bar and colourful, art-lined walls, the restaurant, in the heart of London’s Soho, has been at the epicentre of the capital city’s dining scene for nearly 100 years.

One hundred miles east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs is the choice weekend destination of Angelenos. The Sonoran Desert oasis has seen a star-studded population; Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and most recently the Kardashians have put roots down in Old Las Palmas. Fortunately, Airbnb opens up the hot springs, hiking trails, and golf courses to us B-listers. We’re still waiting for Leo’s villa to hit the platform but until then these Guest Favorite Airbnbs in Palm Springs grant a taste of the superstar lifestyle.

One hundred miles east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs is the choice weekend destination of Angelenos. The Sonoran Desert oasis has seen a star-studded population; Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and most recently the Kardashians have put roots down in Old Las Palmas. Fortunately, Airbnb opens up the hot springs, hiking trails, and golf courses to us B-listers. We’re still waiting for Leo’s villa to hit the platform but until then these Guest Favorite Airbnbs in Palm Springs grant a taste of the superstar lifestyle.

Every year is a big year in Las Vegas, with tourism records being broken regularly. But by any standards this is really big year–we just saw the debut of the super high-profile F1 race, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and just before that, the opening of the world’s most technologically advanced music and performance venue, the Sphere, kicking off with a run of U2 concerts that has already been extended twice. The first ever Sin City Super Bowl is coming in February, but before that there’s one other huge happening–the December 13th grand opening of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, an entirely new mega resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

From Elvis and Frank Sinatra to Sia and Leonardo DiCaprio, Palm Springs has been a chic escape for decades and the desert resort area in Southern California is always reinventing itself for a new generation. (As anyone who has attended Coachella knows.) For a sneak peek at what’s ahead for Palm Springs in 2024, veteran Forbes travel writer Jim Dobson reveals the hot hotels, spas and restaurants to check out next year.

Surrounded by four mountain ranges, Palm Springs is one of Southern California's most popular weekend destinations and the ultimate desert resort oasis. The area comprises nine cities — Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella — each with its unique style and attraction for legions of followers.

In the 1950s, Los Cabos was a hidden gem frequented by Hollywood stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and Lucille Ball. For the well-heeled, the southernmost part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula ticked all the boxes: it boasted a remote location, exclusivity—it was primarily accessible by private plane or yacht—golden beaches with gin-clear water, and nearly 365 days of sunshine.

To paraphrase Frank Sinatra’s crooned take on the city, Chicago can be your kind of town — even if you’re skint. Here's my top ten tips to enjoy the city for nothing.