The Top Hotels in Naples and the Surrounding Italian Islands

As a travel and food writer, I am beyond lucky that my work takes me to dozens of dreamy destinations both near and far each year. But the very best trips make me reluctant to walk out the door for the last time, wishing I could hit a rewind button and begin the trip all over again even while I’m still there.

There’s plenty of evidence that 2024 will be a watershed year for luxury travel.

Whether you plan on spending the last few days of the year relaxing in front of the screen for some well-deserved rest, or plotting out your next travel adventure for 2024, there’s nothing like some armchair traveling to get you inspired. 

The year was 1370, and even the shimmering canals of Venice brought no joy to Francesco Petrarch. Over the last two decades, the world-renowned scholar and poet had travelled the length and breadth of Italy. But with every passing year, he found himself retreating more from social life, seeking to escape the "ignorance" of his age.

From December 2023, as part of its Mobility Plan, Verbier Tourisme will introduce a multi mode of transport booking service developed by Antidots. This innovative booking platform will incorporate all modes of transportation, covering entire journeys from any locations worldwide. As a result, it will now be possible to plan, book, and pay for your journey to Verbier through a single platform. This solution marks the first integration of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) with a valley lift, specifically the one connecting Le Châble and Verbier. It provides travelers with an all-inclusive transportation package, encompassing train and plane services, VTC and taxi options, car rentals, buses, and coaches, as well as free shuttles and the Châble-Verbier gondola. All of these services are conveniently bundled together on the Go Verbier platform, allowing for a seamless experience with a single payment.

“See Naples and die!” The famous saying, popularised by 18th-century German writer Goethe, is an affectionate nod to the beauty of the southern Italian port city, enveloped by its cerulean bay and crowned by Mount Vesuvius.

Although it has been years since I’ve traveled in mesmerizing Tokyo, my memories are as vivid as though they had been sparked yesterday—pleasures aswirl in unique flavors and noises, creativity and ingenuity. So when luxury publisher Assouline released the new book Tokyo Chic, I dove into its 312 lush-paper-stock pages, with more than 200 photographs and illustrations, which are bound in an outsize (10-by-13-inches, 6.4-pound) format—a hefty hardcover wrapped in silk. The brainchild of Andrea Fazzari, whose deft imagery and words are love letters to the inimitable capital, Tokyo Chic showcases a massively enthralling—yet strikingly intimate—city. Currently based in Tokyo, Fazzari is a James Beard Award-winning photographer, author and restaurant maven with notable backgrounds in fashion and film. Born in New York City, she has lived in France, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain and Thailand—and speaks four languages. What a sophisticated guide to have at your armchair traveler’s fingertips! Indeed, this coffee table tome would make a treasured holiday gift for those who have already vacationed in Japan or simply dream of doing so.

Discover the incredible world of Sweden’s ICEHOTEL 34 this winter. Picture this: 500 tonnes of ice, equivalent to 10 Olympic swimming pools of the finest "snis" – a blend of ice and snow – meticulously crafted over six intense weeks. The journey began in spring, as ice blocks were harvested from the Torne River and stored in an ice warehouse in Jukkasjärvi, awaiting their transformation into a magical experience. The unique creation has emerged from the creative minds of 32 artists, spanning 14 countries from around the globe.

With the new year just around the corner, these new hotels should be on the travel radar. For some, bucket list travel may be the best holiday present of all. Others enjoy the anticipation of planning the trip together, especially if you can redeem hard-earned loyalty points to make the trip more affordable. A handful will be lucky enough to win a free vacation trip, but for everyone else, these are some of the newest hotels worth exploring in 2024.

Moving abroad can be one of the most exciting and rewarding steps in life, but it also comes with plenty of worries. If you’re dreaming of relocating to Europe, you might be struggling to decide what country or city would suit you best.

Spain now has the world’s most powerful passport, according to a new index.

Snow isn’t completely unheard of in Las Vegas as the desert valley gets occasional flurries. But a cutting-edge spa amenity—a “Snow Shower”—at the brand new Fontainebleau Las Vegas means that flurries will fall all year round, a welcome reprieve when temperatures on The Las Vegas Strip hit the triple digits during summer months.