Art tips

Renowned Canadian photographic artist and filmmaker Edward Burtynsky has taken over two vast floors at London’s Saatchi Gallery to present Extraction/Abstraction, the largest exhibition of his 40 year career. His remarkable photographs and films of global industrial landscapes represent his dedication to bearing witness to the impact of humans have had on the planet.

Visitors flock to Venice year-round, and who can blame them?

Grapes have been associated with pleasure since ancient times, a symbol of Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry. These days, clusters of plummy Concords, oval autumn royals and dusky kyohos are decorating dinner tables, doubling as cornucopian decorations and low-effort snacks. “You can get a beautiful, imperfect drip and drape from grapes,” says the interior stylist Colin King, 35, who overflowed a marble urn with abundant mounds of them for the launch of his furniture collection, a collaboration with the Future Perfect, in New York this past fall. Although he uses green grapes for daytime parties, for evening events he prefers the “moody, sensual vibe” of dark varieties — like the attenuated, oblong moon drops that the artist Laila Gohar, 35, mixed with red globes and flames to form an edible monolith for the recent opening of the Essentiel Antwerp clothing store in New York. The chef Mina Stone, 42 — who runs Mina’s, the cafe at MoMA PS1 in Queens, and is a go-to caterer for art gallery dinners — favors Thomcords, a sweet, seedless hybrid she often serves with dessert to “provide heft and a colorful backdrop” for daintier confections. She also likes to roast grapes alongside seared duck breast. In London, the pastry chef Claire Ptak, the owner of Violet bakery, offers what she calls fragolina cupcakes, named for the fragola (Italian for “strawberry”) grapes that she cooks down, then purées and adds to the buttercream frosting. The fragolas “taste like a berryish Concord,” says Ptak, 49, who tops each cake with a small cluster of fruit. The frosted treats “transport you back to childhood when you take the first bite,” she says, “and then you realize they’re also very grown-up.” —

It’s not often that Littlehampton, a small seaside town on the Sussex coast, makes the news. In the five decades since I was born there, I can count the times on the fingers of one hand: Nik Kershaw making the video for The Riddle in 1984 (oh, the teenage excitement); Anita Roddick, the town’s favourite daughter, being made a Dame in 2003; and the opening of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach cafe in 2007 (known to my family as the Rusty Tin).

In a dazzling homage to the vibrant intersection of popular culture and high art, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has opened its latest show, "Signs and Objects: Pop Art from the Guggenheim Collection." Curated by Lauren Hinkson and Joan Young, this exhibition invites you to explore the colorful, ironic, and often provocative world of Pop Art, a movement that dramatically reshaped the landscape of contemporary art in the post–World War II era.

The Swiss city of Lugano is an outlier, radically different in feeling from counterparts like Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, or Basel. It has a 19th-century feel, a measured pace, and traces of the Belle Epoque. Situated on Lake Lugano with tree-lined promenades and a backdrop of domed mountains, the views might have been lifted from an Art Nouveau poster.

With an average of 266 sunny days every year, 17 miles of world-class beaches, and adventures on tap year-round, San Diego is an ideal place for families to explore. Here are our top multi-generational picks in California’s second largest city.

Renowned for its spectacular architecture and high concentration of ornate churches, the Austrian city of Vienna draws tourists in droves with each passing year—but there’s far more to this stunning city than simply its gorgeous buildings. All throughout each district, visitors can discover a thriving dining scene that seamlessly blends old and new, with time-honored bistros and cutting-edge wine bars scattered all across the city. Whether you’re hoping to dine on elegant seven-course tasting menus or just dine on classic Wiener schnitzel with a beer in hand, Vienna is certain to provide you with a truly unforgettable dining experience.

Minneapolis stands out for its art museums, its lakes, and its sporting prowess. The largest city in Minnesota sits on the west banks of the Mississippi River whereas its Twin City and the state capital is a short journey on the light railway.

First established as an East India Company trading post, Calcutta served as India’s capital under the British Raj between 1772 and 1911. It was officially renamed Kolkata in 2001 to reflect Bengali pronunciation and has become a center for culture and the arts with 13 major festivals occurring every year.

The Acropolis in Athens, Greece, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. Visiting the artistic complex offers a chance to stand where philosophers once debated, where democracy was born, and where art and culture flourished during the Greco-Roman era. The structure has endured wars and stood the test of time thanks to ongoing restoration and conservation efforts. It sits atop a hill in the heart of Athens, which rewards visitors with panoramic views of the city, stretching all the way to the Aegean Sea. The UNESCO World Heritage site attracts around three million visitors annually. Due to the throngs of summer tourists and concerns over the long-term preservation of the ancient citadel, there is now a daily cap of 20,000 sightseers per day. The restriction does not affect most. That said, opting for a vacation rental close to the Acropolis will give you a head start for a morning visit and a spectacular backdrop for your stay. These Airbnbs near the Acropolis are all within walking distance from the heritage site and have direct views of the complex from balconies or rooftops, so you can sit back and enjoy your visit to Athens without hustling through crowds.

Powder laps in the morning and performance art in the afternoon — such is the winter life in Western Massachusetts. The region’s ranging mountains and snow-covered forests create a spectacular backdrop for outdoor recreation such as skiing and snowshoeing while its small towns have long provided respite for artists. In the 19th century, painters, artisans, and writers began retreating from nearby big cities to the Berkshires and surrounding areas to find solitude and the space to create. (Take, for example, Edith Wharton, who needed space so badly she had a 35-room mansion built in Lenox called The Mount.)

Hotel AKA Alexandria is a chic, sultry, boutique-feeling hotel hosting 180 residential-style accommodations in the Alexandria, Virginia’s, Northern Old Town Alexandria neighborhood. It’s an easy 15-minute walk from traditional downtown Old Town Alexandria’s bustling shopping, dining, and attractions and a quick 20-minute drive from downtown Washington. D.C.’s metropolitan atmosphere. But it’s secluded enough and separated away from the traffic and hustle of nearby business districts to offer a nice, quiet respite as a home base while visiting the area.

Who wouldn’t be seduced by the selection of fine wines and cheeses, and other sensory delights served aboard Le Bougainville, the 430-foot-long mega-yacht that the luxury travel company, Abercrombie and Kent, charters for their 10-day Greek islands cruise?

In 42 days, a total solar eclipse will visit North America, throwing parts of Mexico, 15 U.S. states, and Canada into darkness for a few minutes during the day.

I first landed in Berlin in the late 1990s, in the heady years after the fall of the Wall. I was aware enough of its licentious reputation to startle a teacher by announcing plans to run away there and open a club. But that first night my girlfriend and I chanced on a bar owned by the Glaswegian cousin of queer artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman. I DJ'd with a pile of scratched 78s, he took us to a party in an after-hours record store run by Russian émigrés, and we ended the morning at a techno night in the basement of a mansion block on Karl-Marx-Allee, sweating among the Stalinist decor.

Stretching along the sinewy curves of the Douro River, Porto is a city of hilly cobblestone lanes, avant-garde museums and grand architectural monuments that date back to the Middle Ages.

Cobblestone streets, citadels and canons perched atop fortress walls are unexpected sights in North America – but you can find all of that and more in Québec City.

Attention Marriott loyalists: It's time to start planning a trip to Hawaii because the Renaissance Honolulu Hotel & Spa, one of TPG's most exciting hotel openings of 2024, is set to open its doors Thursday — and we've got exclusive photos of the property that'll have you packing your bags.

Québec City is a capital city that has the vibe of a big, friendly village.

Compared to other big-name international cities, Beijing remains a very affordable destination for most visitors.