The Best Berlin Hotels To Capture the Essence of Germany's Capital

When it comes to packing light, it's not just the amount of clothing you bring that matters — it's also the materials they're made of.

Few places are as synonymous with Jewish food as New York City. Manhattan's Lower East Side neighbourhood served as a culinary cauldron when it was home to the largest Jewish community in the world in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, blending centuries of diasporic gastronomic knowledge.

Rocco Forte Hotels have launched two urban art-themed tours which have been designed to immerse guests into the deep history of the world of graffiti and street art in Berlin and Munich. 

It’s almost that time of year again, when the nights get longer, the temperature drops and the smell of Pumpkin Spiced Lattes is in the air. Not only will autumn (hopefully) bring relief from summer's extreme heatwaves, it will also treat us to stunning fall colours.

Madame Ziemowit the witch nods and scratches her beard as I flip a tarot card, revealing the chariot symbol. Picking the chariot seems fitting, as the turban-clad sorcerer and I are on a train, having just crossed the border from Germany into Poland. Multicoloured lightbulbs adorn carriage windows, framing a green-blue blur of fields and rivers. Next to us a toddler, sitting in a mini-library by the loo, draws squiggles on an Etch A Sketch. A jaunty brass fanfare plays through the carriage speakers.

Manhattan’s Lower East Side has always been known for its gritty edge. This is the place where immigrants, arriving from Ellis Island and typically holed up in a tenement apartment, had their first view of New York, and indeed of their version of the ‘Great American Dream’. As a consequence, there is still a strong presence felt of a wide variety of different communities and cultures – from Jewish to Italian. In fact, at the crossroads with China Town, Little Italy and SoHo, you still feel as if you are in the heart of the city’s infamous melting pot which makes this city so diverse and exhilarating.

Ibiza is for partying.

The first time I traveled for two weeks with a backpack, it was the lightest I'd ever packed for the longest trip I'd ever taken. I had everything I needed, but I was surprised to find that I could have packed even lighter. 

Shanghai is known for its forest of skyscrapers with the world’s third-largest megatower leading the charge. Travelers wary of heights will find a medley of things to do at ground level including the historic waterfront, trendy Xintiandi, and the ancient Yu Garden. In terms of where to stay in Shanghai, the city is a playground of high-rise luxury hotels with infinity pools, rooftop bars, and awesome skyline views. The best hotels in Shanghai, China, are near or within eyesight of The Bund.

When planning a city break, modern travelers consider a range of pros and cons. Are the hotels up to standard? Where are the tastiest places to eat? And what exactly is there to do in the city?

The first written evidence of beer being brewed and consumed dates back as far as 4,000BC, with the ancient Sumerians believed to have developed the earliest known methods for creating the alcoholic drink. Its history and connection to human civilisation runs deep, and a number of today’s beers have their own remarkable heritage.

You’ll soon be able to fall asleep in Paris and wake up in Berlin thanks to the return of Austrian rail operator ÖBB’s night train service.