After Norway was added to China's visa-free list earlier in September, five more European countries have made the cut.
02.10.2024 - 18:09 / cntraveler.com
Copenhagen was voted one of The Best Cities in the World in the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. To find out all the winning cities, read here.
In the summer of 2021, I took a solo trip to Copenhagen, a city I'd never visited but expected to love. I remember stepping out of its airport into the gentle sunshine and weighing my options for how to reach my hotel. Eventually I chose the bus, thinking it would be a good way to get a feel for the city. As I settled in for my 30-minute ride, Christine and the Queens streaming through my headphones, I texted my husband: “I can't explain it, but this place already feels like home.”
Many visits later the bus remains my favorite way to move around Copenhagen, but you really can't go wrong with any mode of public transportation. The metro runs 24/7 and is considered among the world's most efficient. In 2025 the city will unveil a light rail line that will connect the north and west.
But there is no better symbol of Copenhagen than the bicyclists perpetually whooshing through its streets, forcing you to leap out of the way. For a few decades, mobility here has become increasingly centered around biking because of its climate-friendly and democratic nature. Now the cycling infrastructure is spreading beyond the capital: In 2022 Denmark announced a $458 million plan to build more bike lanes across the country, adding to Copenhagen's existing 239 miles of routes. But cycling here is more than just a way to get from A to B; it’s a way of life. The streams of cyclists headed to work and the cargo bikes on school runs are a representation of the Danish proclivity for spontaneity and efficiency—even style.
If Copenhagen's bike lanes favor speed demons, its pedestrian thoroughfares—and favorable topography—are well suited for leisurely exploration. A day could include grabbing cardamom snurrer at a bakery in Østerbro, poking around the design shops of Frederiksstaden, stopping for a dip at one of the harbor's swimming spots, and ending up at a biodynamic wine bar in Christianshavn. The city's ease of navigation can be attributed to its innovative architects and future-facing city planners. Nowhere is that forethought more evident than in the areas abutting Copenhagen’s harbor, which continue to evolve into vibrant public spaces. The new Opera Park features six gardens and a greenhouse. Nearby Paper Island, a reimagined industrial district, houses a hotel, shops, and eateries. Elsewhere, a plan is underway to turn the waterfront district in Nordhavn into a carbon-neutral city-within-a-city linked by canals and green corridors.
Copenhagen is constantly evolving to be more accessible and low-impact, and the city hopes visitors will do their part. This summer it announced perks
After Norway was added to China's visa-free list earlier in September, five more European countries have made the cut.
Oct 2, 2024 • 7 min read
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gabriel Escobar , a 22-year-old actor and social media content creator. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Sticking to a diet, especially when you are away from home traveling, is often difficult, particularly if you are a vegetarian or vegan. The options just aren’t the same.
Oct 1, 2024 • 6 min read
It's been nearly a year since Scandinavian Airlines announced plans to leave Star Alliance, which it helped found over 25 years ago, as part of a financing deal with Air France-KLM. The airline officially exited SkyTeam at the end of August and has since been forging closer ties with its new SkyTeam partners, including Delta, with whom the Stockholm-based carrier signed a codeshare agreement that just went into effect on Sept. 25.
I've traveled the world on a shoestring budget.
I've slept like a queen all over the world.
If you’ve long wished to explore the Outback, but don't want to give up your job, there's a way to live out your day dream—Australia's Working Holiday visa programs are a great option for people between 18 and 30 years old (35 in a few cases) to live and work in Australia for the short-term.
Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is making it easier to travel this fall and winter with $99 flights to popular cities across Europe.
As a fashion industry veteran, the men’s wear designer Jesse Rowe has been to countless stores. The one he can’t stop thinking about is Marcello, a hidden shop in Fukuoka, Japan. “You walk into a nondescript building, go up a couple of flights of stairs to the rooftop, walk along a stone path, then go down a fire escape to this completely transporting clothing shop,” says Rowe. The designer has brought that spirit of discovery to Zebra Room, a boutique in Germantown, N.Y., that’s equal parts coffee shop, cabinet of curiosities and listening lounge. Housed in a converted barn, Zebra Room devotes most of its square footage to a collection of midcentury Scandinavian furniture that Rowe’s brother imports from Copenhagen (highlights include an Inca chair by Arne Norell). There are also secondhand clothes and goods, from vintage marinière shirts to handmade leather dog collars. A coffee bar (which serves everything from Mexican café de olla to cold brew tonics topped with yuzu) is set up in a cube leftover from an exhibition held by the shop’s next-door neighbors Alexander Gray Associates. Rowe and his wife, the interior designer Loren Daye, clad the plaster installation with hemlock wood to keep with the natural feel of the space, which also has a 1970s cast-iron stove and retains the barn’s bluestone dirt floors. The cube houses Rowe’s record collection and sound system, which the designer has modeled after those in Japan’s kissa cafes. He alternates between vinyl and streaming, but the shop’s soundtrack is always played through a restored vintage SunValley/Dynaco tube amplifier and Klipsch LaScala speakers; similar tube amps, turntables and speakers are also for sale. “I want it to feel like someone’s living room — you might have to yell over the music,” says Rowe.
When visitors to Greece flock to the famous islands of Santorini or Mykonos, they’re overlooking the natural beauty that the northern part of the country has to offer. The island of Thassos is a perfect alternative for those seeking a more tranquil and authentic Greek experience, and Elia Stone Villas Deluxe Private Pool Villa is the ideal place to stay while you’re there.