Architecture tips

Think of the word Portugal and, immediately, vibrant colors spring to mind: the gorgeous tones of terracotta roofs set against paper-white façades; marigold yellow cable cars and warm gray cobblestone streets; the Atlantic glittering on the horizon of coastal cities. The country offers scenes and vistas for every kind of traveler, but there's something special about having the beauty of such a place captured and curated by an expert artist with a trained eye—and that's exactly what the photographer, writer, and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Christine Chitnis has done in her new book Patterns of Portugal: A Journey Through Colors, History, Tiles & Architecture, out February 6.

It’s hard to believe that Puglia once played second fiddle to the likes of Tuscany.

The 20th century was unkind to Vienna. The capital of the Habsburg empire until 1918, it was, by early 1989, a bleak and battered outpost within touching distance of the iron curtain. Now that the city has undeniably recaptured its glory of old (symbolically, its population grew to two million last year, its pre-first world war imperial population), it might seem counterintuitive to visit it for its modernist architecture. But this is a highly rewarding endeavour, especially if one wishes to avoid an overdose of Sachertorte (chocolate cake), horse-drawn carriages, flamboyant churches and palaces, and imperial tat.

There are creaking floorboards, twisty corridors, lined with oil paintings, and oak-panelled rooms that seem to hold the secrets of the past within their joints: Ellenborough Park may now be recognised as one of the UK’s leading country house hotels (in fact, it is the only five-star country house hotel in Gloucestershire) but this wasn’t always its raison d’etre.

Over the years, Disney has dressed Scotland in fiction, overlaying its land and cityscapes with films and fables, and the nation has delivered a magical performance every time. Its varied landscapes, the architectural design of its largest cities, and the drama of its wildernesses have allowed filmmakers to create almost any world they choose within Scotland’s borders. From medieval fantasies to gritty sci-fi to tickertape parades in the Big Apple, the decades-long relationship between Scotland and storyteller has resulted in some of the most striking images in Disney’s deep catalogue.

Scores of travelers trek to Italy each year in order to experience the country’s majestic landscapes, fascinating culture, artistic treasures and renowned cuisine. Visitors flock to Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence for a true taste of Italian flare.

Getting around Bordeaux – a compact city that contains a dazzling mosaic of architectural styles – is a feast for the eyes.

In a city of ravenous for art, in Tokyo lines for exhibitions are as long as those for the latest pop idol's concerts.

A version of this article originally appeared in Condé Nast Traveller UK.

As the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily has long had a magnetic pull for both settlers and sightseers.

If you’ve rambled along La Rambla in Barcelona, climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris and checked out Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, it’s tempting to tick Europe’s major cities off the list. But even in the most well-visited cities, there’s often a new and surprising angle to discover. We’d love to hear about the unexpected discoveries that made you see a European city in a new light, whether it be modernist architecture in Vienna, street food in Amsterdam or contemporary art in Rome.

One of the most important cultural events in Madrid in recent years was the public opening, just before the pandemic, of a collection that had been sitting behind the closed doors of a private palace for about 200 years.

If you've ever watched a Hallmark movie, you may have seen my hometown, Victoria, British Columbia. With its charming, storybook-like setting, it's become a filming hotspot.

Bathing is back!

Michael Bennett, the former N.F.L. player, started designing furniture as a way to reconsider architecture and the spaces that Black people occupy. Inspired by his upbringing in Louisiana and Texas, as well as by trips to Senegal, where his ancestors are from, Bennett began to think about the objects that “bring Black people together in public spaces” as a way to deepen his longtime activism work focused on racial justice. After retiring from football in 2020, he founded the design practice Studio Kër. Bennett’s exploration of the Black home led him to create an 11-piece collection of sculptural furniture that he’s debuting this month in “We Gotta Get Back to the Crib,” his inaugural exhibition for the Los Angeles art gallery Marta, presented at Theaster Gates’s Rebuild Foundation in Chicago. (In the spring, the show will travel to Houston.) The collection reimagines objects of communal gatherings; pieces include the Gumbo lounge chair, a lush take on the stackable monobloc chair, and the Pew couch, a nod to the church bench, made of leather and ekki wood. “For me, the show is about celebrating Black ingenuity and connecting back to that African diasporic design language,” says Bennett.

Humans have always traveled and settled, but we have learned to reconcile our urge to explore “what lies beyond” with our desire for the comfort that comes from building a space to call “home.” And these powerful human impulses have been driven to new heights by our passion to perfect, taking both transport and architecture on fascinating evolutionary journeys.

The English country house is a familiar character, but often the fictional houses seen on screen are the same repurposed National Trust properties. For Saltburn, about a young man who is drawn into the tempting world of the aristocratic Catton family, writer/director Emerald Fennell wanted to find a unique house that could also serve as a single location. She and production designer Suzie Davies discovered a 127-room privately owned manor in Northamptonshire that hit every mark. (As part of the agreement to film there, no one involved in the production is allowed to disclose the name of the house.)

From gorgeous cities swaying to the beat of tropical rhythms to unspoiled, lush forests, Cuba delights travelers with a wide variety of contrasting places.

Rather than a city with a single, unified style, London is a collection of distinct neighborhoods, each with their own unique character. One walk around the British capital and you’ll discover the distinction is marked by the architecture of each—from the pastel flat facades of Notting Hill to the stately, stark white townhouses of Kensington to the 19th century, industrial brick buildings of the South Bank.

Many civilizations have left their mark on Seville.

New hotel, old soul. Grace La Margna St Mortiz opens in the glamorous Swiss Alps