Art tips

As the coolest kid on the Scandi block, Copenhagen has it all: good looks, smarts and influence that far exceeds its size. Where else can you dive straight into a once-polluted inner-city harbour, ski down an eco-friendly power plant or cycle across a ‘Circle Bridge’ designed by art-world superstar Olafur Eliasson? While not short on cobbled streets and fairy-tale palaces, Denmark’s capital is a metropolis of the future – a clean, green marvel of electric-powered ferries and cutting-edge architecture as striking as it is sustainable.

Our new series features under-the-radar holiday destinations that are often overlooked by visitors but cherished by locals. Here, we ask four experts on Germany for their top picks. 

South Africa is an excellent destination for family trips.

No country in Asia, and possibly the world, is such a kaleidoscope of as Malaysia.

In 2012, the government of Singapore set out to create a “City in a Garden,” a futuristic botanical garden that would showcase the city-state’s embrace of the future and add to its already distinct skyline. Singapore is small — 274 square miles — yet it managed to fit Gardens by the Bay, an area containing several hundred acres of lush greenery, a waterfall, 1.5 million plants, and the largest glass greenhouse in the world into its tiny frame. Many visitors to Gardens by the Bay come for the iconic Supertrees, Cloud Forest, and Flower Dome, but there are a number of lesser-known exhibits to walk through on a day trip to the Gardens by the Bay.

The ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao – sit just off the northern coast of South America, an amiable trio that appeals to sun-seeking travelers from all over the world.

Although the mythical “Grand Budapest Hotel” isn’t an option when deciding where to stay in Budapest, there are countless hotels in Hungary’s vibrant capital that earn the Gustave H. stamp of approval. Widely considered one of the coolest cities in Europe, days in Budapest are spent encountering landmarks, meandering along the riverside, and curing all ailments by “taking the waters” at a thermal bathhouse. Evenings start with rooftop sundowners and end in buzzing ruin bars. Fusing golden-age hospitality with bohemian charm, these luxury Budapest hotels give you the grandest experience.

Zurich boasts stunning scenery with the snow-capped Alps in the distance and offers plenty of activities and attractions to explore. It has enchanting streets lined with historic architecture, plus excellent restaurants and nightlife spots. Shopping opportunities abound in Zurich – from luxury boutiques to bustling markets and charming little stores. Zurich is also known for its vibrant culture, with plenty of art galleries, museums, theaters and festivals to enjoy. These Zurich Airbnbs put you close to it all.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s economic powerhouse, is a sea of high-rises and non-stop activity. Not to be upstaged by the skyscrapers, a motley of pagodas, art museums, and French-era landmarks bear witness to the city’s eventful history. One day downtown will throw up hours worth of conversation over ​com tam and bun bo.

St. Louis is known as the Gateway to the West. A major stop on the Mississippi River and just south of the Missouri River, it was the jumping-off point as the United States expanded its border westward and the city boomed in 19th and 20th centuries. Today, you can see vestiges of an affluent past mix with a forward-thinking, artistic community that make St. Louis an exciting destination year-round.

Summer may be coming to a close, but there's good news that comes with school being back in session: College campuses everywhere are springing back to life in full force. The Midwest is home to several of the best, with world-class museums, acclaimed restaurants, and notable festivals, boasting their own unique draws. And while autumn is always an exciting time to visit (think football and foliage), there’s enough happening in each of these destinations to warrant a getaway any time of year. From a bustling big-city suburb to a UNESCO City of Literature, here are the Midwest’s best college towns to visit now.

While 2023 has already ushered in plenty of hot new debuts, there’s still more to come...

Post-pandemic “revenge travel” is in full swing, and tourists are flocking to Italy in droves like never before: with the country poised to break all tourism records in 2023, visitors–especially from the U.S.–are expected to beeline to Italy over other European destinations for the foreseeable future, to revel in the ineffable magic of la dolce vita.

Design-led lifestyle brand AC Hotels by Marriott has this week announced its brand debut in Croatia. The AC Hotel by Marriott Split is housed within the 135-metre-high Westgate Tower and boasts incredible views of the cityscape as well as unobstructed views of the Adriatic Sea. The new hotel is also set to offer the Perfectly Precise Hotel™ experience.

San Antonio, a city renowned for its historical landmarks, vibrant culture, and plenty of family-friendly attractions, is undergoing a quiet culinary revolution that expands far beyond the traditional flavors. Beneath the shadows of the iconic Alamo and along the picturesque River Walk, a diverse and thriving food scene is taking shape.

When the calendar flips to September this weekend, Orbit ArtSpace in Fruita, Colorado, will celebrate its one-year anniversary.

The Brazilian artist Wanda Pimentel’s “Envolvimento” paintings (1968-84) are hard-edged domestic vignettes — kitchens, bathrooms, the insides of cars — rendered in a lean, almost festive palette of mostly reds, greens and yellows. In these claustrophobic spaces, feminine-seeming thighs, ankles, feet and hands make fetishistic cameos, jutting out at awkward angles or lingering near water puddles and toilet-paper rolls. Sometimes, they’re framed by thick, windowpane-like lines that cast the viewer as a peeping Tom. “The house is not only a space of intimacy but also of fear,” says Alexandre Gabriel of São Paulo’s Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel gallery, which will present Pimentel’s work at the Independent 20th Century art fair in New York City next month.

Singapore may be one of the most expensive countries in the world to live in, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of free things to do that are fun and meaningful ways to experience the city.

Poverty was a popular subject for artists in 18th century Italy. Wealthy patrons sought genre paintings of the lower classes to decorate their lavish palaces. So the discovery of thirteen large-scale canvases depicting beggars and tradesmen stashed in a Northern Italian castle wasn't especially surprising to the art historian who found them in the late 1920s. What confounded him was their style. They were painted with as much attention to individual personality as was seen in portraits of nobility.

South Korea’s capital is electric. Among its neon lights, K-pop and fast-paced energy, you can feel the current, the hum of activity moving through the streets. Nowhere is this more evident than in Itaewon, Samcheong-dong and Hongdae, neighborhoods popular with the city’s creatives.

Forget the huge hotels with hundreds of identical rooms. If you’re planning a trip to the Tuscan capital of Florence, Italy, consider the intimate 18th-century palazzo of AdAstra. Not only is each and every one of its 14 rooms totally unique, but the storied, luxe mansion overlooks a secret garden with a gorgeous neo-gothic fairytale tower designed for observing the stars.