Classical tips

For fans of Christmas festivities, London has some of the best activities and events in the world. The iconic landmarks and streets are lit up with dazzling displays, there’s Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, traditional Christmas markets offering unique gifts and seasonal treats and ice skating at beautiful venues like historic Somerset House. Here are a few suggestions if you’re visiting London this month.

This story about Viet-Texan cuisine is part of Home, Made, a collection of stories honoring Asian diasporas creating vibrant communities by weaving their heritages with their American hometowns. Read more here.

From soft knits to plaid PJs, one of these cosy gifts is perfect for the traveler in your life. Our pick of winter-warming accessories are perfect for those traveling to cooler destinations, to use in-transit or in-flight. In fact, these presents will not only keep them warm, but will also keep you close to their hearts.

Cinematic Naples lives to eat, but there is far more to this southern Italian city than scoffing pizza margherita at Da Michele like Julia Roberts did in the 2010 movie Eat Pray Love, or frequenting the pizzeria where Sophia Loren flipped ’n fried dough on screen in the 1950s.

As the birthplace of modern Western civilization, sprawling Athens has enough neoclassical buildings to keep you busy for a week.

Because traveling with babies is stressful enough, give parents a cute outfit for their little one to wear on the plane or train or on a long car ride. Even if it doesn’t help the baby’s mood, it will definitely help their own.

Mixing Hollywood glamour with luxury, Beverly Hills, California, is one of the most exciting places to visit during the holidays. The famed city and surrounding areas, like Bel Air and Century City, are famous for their festive atmosphere, making for a luxurious destination to celebrate the season's magic.

Chef Lawrence H. Abrams brings robust experience including classical French and Cajun cuisine to The St. Regis Deer Valley’s culinary teams.

Here’s a detailed list of the top 10 card games perfect for long journeys.

The airline’s customers travelling in First on December 24 and 25 will be gifted a bespoke glass Christmas tree bauble

In this beautiful place, you’ll find a variety of cruises tailored to couples, ranging from luxurious to budget-friendly, classic to contemporary.

When people think about beers in New York City, most people think of the buzzy craft breweries of Brooklyn and yes, they are excellent but one of the best places to drink in NYC is in lower Manhattan, where excellent beer bars are mere blocks from each other and you can enjoy yourself with a semi-relaxed NYC style of quiet that the East and West Village, The Bowery and Alphabet City neighborhoods afford. Here are some of my favorite places in drink in Lower Manhattan.

Here is a plan for a day out on the Metropolitan line of London’s underground, although we will at no stage be under ground, and will travel 25 miles from London. First, however, a little history.

Served at everything from weddings to funerals, and found in bakeries and supermarkets across Sweden, layered Smörgåstårta ‘cakes’ are a celebration of the savoury. They come in all shapes and sizes and can combine pretty much anything the appetite desires – as long as you include some spreadable elements. Fish pâté, horse radish, crème fraîche and cream cheese are favourites, which are layered with everything from avocado and smoked fish, to cooked prawns and ham — with such classic Scandi garnishes as radish, dill and cucumber as fresh decorative flourishes. Grab your mandolin and get creative.

Each year in the Alps, as the first snows of the season start to fall, mountain towns welcome winter visitors with a slew of smart new hotels. And this year is no different, with upscale brands including COMO Hotels and Resorts moving its beach-beautiful ethos to the Italian Alps in COMO Alpina Dolomites, and Grace Hotels giving St Moritz its first luxury opening in half a century in the Grace La Margna. With its boutique modern addition, the sleek Swiss hotel breathes new life into the former art nouveau hotel La Margna, following a trend for high-profile revamps seen across the Alps this season. Here’s a look at the six best new openings, many of which revitalise former hotel landmarks.

“He’s in here, in the kitchen every night and he’s smiling. He’s so happy to be doing this,” explains one of the managers of Café Carmellini. He is chef Andrew Carmellini, well known around New York the past 15 years for his respected but more casual restaurants Locanda Verde, Lafayette, The Dutch, Carne Mare and Bar Primi. This restaurant, which opened November 1st in the new Fifth Avenue Hotel, marks his return to fine dining with reinterpretations of French and Italian classics and as his most personal restaurant is the first one that bears his name. It’s been packed since opening night and looking around the Gilded Age style dining room with its oversized bronze and seeded glass chandeliers suspended from double height ceilings, plush blue banquettes and sculpted trees in the middle of the floor, the chef isn’t the only one smiling.

The Caribbean island of Grenada is called Spice Isle. With its lush and fertile greenery, there is ample opportunity for hikes and chocolate tours, but it’s what lies beneath the ocean’s surface that offers an experience like none other: the Molinière Underwater Sculpture Park.

There’s no denying that the power of libations brings people together—and there’s simply nothing like toasting to the holiday season with Christmas drinks that are essentially crafted cocktails. This year is a perfect excuse to sip your way into one-of-a-kind Christmas traditions, celebrated around the globe.

Whether you’re traveling or not, a crossbody bag is now something of a wardrobe staple. Nearly every brand that designs accessories makes them, because they are supremely convenient and easy to use. And for frequent travelers, we can’t overstate how easy they make our lives. Because of the way they’re designed—with long straps that are meant to go across the chest, they free up our hands to do other things, like flag down taxis, hold a cup of coffee, look up directions, or drag our rolling luggage through an airport. And we never have to worry about the bag slipping off our shoulders. You can take them anywhere for anything. And they now come in every shape, size, and color. Here, our edit of the 15 best men's crossbody bags.

In Britain, the Sunday roast is sacrosanct. Gathering together around a beautifully cooked joint of meat, with lashings of gravy, vegetables and billowing Yorkshire puddings, is, for many, the weekend’s social highlight. And where better to do to this than the pub? Not only do you avoid the washing-up but, centuries after the French dubbed Brits les rosbifs, you get to enjoy the roast at its most modern. In recent decades, Britain’s best pub chefs have, by focusing on seasonal ingredients, rare-breed meats and painstaking preparations of roast potatoes or root vegetables, brought a fresh glamour to this Sunday afternoon ritual.

Why is Berlin the undisputed capital of Christmas markets? Could it be because it has more than 80 different holiday markets that attract nearly one million visitors to Berlin every year. From new additions, to timeless favorites, here are some great Christmas markets in Berlin that you won’t want to miss this season.