Lake tips

New Base Strengthen’s Presence in Mountain West Region.

There are many legends of Isola Bella: The tiny island in Lake Maggiore belonged to Italy's storied Borromeo clan for 500 years. But more recently, it played host to Louis Vuitton's resort show, a fantastical reimagining of one tale involving mermaids who transformed into flowers upon its shores—a notion translated by artistic director Nicolas Ghesquière into dreamy pastel gowns with blooms of organza and sweeping architectural hems, presented alongside custom-made headwear by a Roman opera atelier. After the show, the first ever hosted by the maison in Italy, other French houses followed, with Dior presenting a jewelry collection and Jacquemus opening a store. Here, tips for experiencing the region's legendary dolce vita.

Margaritaville Resort Lake Tahoe, Margaritaville’s first property in a ski destination is welcoming guests just in time for the 2024 ski season.

If you’re a Pink Floyd fan, you know Mono Lake. Perhaps not by name, but certainly by sight. It’s the location for the legendary Aubrey Powell “The Diver” photo (also called “Monosee”) from the inner sleeve of Wish You Were Here. Even if you’re not a Pink Floyd fan, you might have come across this photo, where a pair of legs are sticking out of perfectly still water near alien-looking rock formations. The whole thing is surreal in that way that Powell and the company he co-founded, Hipgnosis, was so skilled at creating.

The amber, auburn and crimson colours of autumn cosy up on top of one another, each layer dotted with patches of green, waving gently in the wind. This description is not one of the Lake District landscape before me, though it does match those views. Rather, it’s of the cabbage and butternut squash sabzi that’s just been handed to me by Harrison Ward on the summit of Black Fell – cooked on a camping stove with red onion, diced garlic and ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon turmeric, accompanied by a freshly made flatbread and topped with coriander.

For those passionate about taking to the open road, maybe a holiday in a converted gas station is the perfect home-from-home. Or, for explorers wanting to get away from it all, an old log mill in the mountains could be the ideal retreat. With a line-up of quirky and distinctive holiday rentals, such as petrol stations and log cabins, Curated Collection x Eclectic Escapes by Marriott Bonvoy is part of the brand’s growing line-up, under its Homes & Villas umbrella. Travelers can book one of 130,000+ premium and luxury homes found across the world, including a reimagined gas station in Schulenburg Texas, and a log mill dating back to 1797 in Jonesborough, Tennessee.

Nestled in a picturesque valley surrounded by rolling hills, Ljubljana is often described as one of Europe's best-kept secrets. Ljubljana's small size and pedestrian-friendly layout make it a city that's easy to explore on foot or by bicycle. No cars are allowed in the center of town after 10 am every day. There’s plenty to do in town and its central location allows for lovely day trips to nearby lakes and national parks. No trip to Slovenia would be complete without a visit to the picturesque Lake Bled, the former summer playground of the infamous dictator Tito. Today, it’s a popular vacation spot for Slovenians and tourists, less than an hour from Ljubljana.

With a medieval old town set against a deep-blue lake and ringed by towering peaks, Lucerne is as striking a city as you’ll find in Switzerland. Historically, this has been known as a place of art and music, but today, I’m visiting the city for a distinctly different — and arguably more delicious — reason.

Whoopie pies probably won't save humankind. But a stop at DonnaSue Bakes + Cooks in Vermont's Champlain Islands is sure to boost your faith in humanity. As soon as my mom and I see the large handwritten letters spelling out “PIE” on a sun-faded shed off Route 2 in the town of Grand Isle, we hit the brakes on our bikes. A sign next to a Betsy Ross flag informs us that Sunday business hours are “by chance.”

Does it make sense to stay in downtown Salt Lake City for a ski vacation? It certainly does if your ideal winter trip includes great food, music and nightlife.

It will come as zero surprise that Las Vegas, Nevada, is considered the best party city in the US, according to a survey by U.S. News & World Report. What’s even less surprising is that Salt Lake City, Utah, did not make this top-10 list. Truth be told, it might not even crack the top 20. But it’s on the rise. With a boost from COVID and a number of other factors working in its favor, the Salt Lake City party scene is becoming a true nightlife ecosystem with its own unique style, sound and vibe. This is your guide to going out in the capital city of the Beehive State.

TSA agents at Salt Lake City International Airport were in for a surprise after finding what appeared to be a human skull in a passenger's luggage earlier this month.

When the wooden gunboat Spitfire sailed into battle as part of a flotilla engaging British naval forces on Lake Champlain in 1776, she carried an unlikely crew: ragtag American soldiers with little naval experience, under the command of a swashbuckling patriot and hero, Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Arnold, still years away from becoming the nation’s most infamous traitor, sacrificed several vessels in what would be called the Battle of Valcour Island, after one of the islands dotting the narrow, deep lake that stretches from Québec south along the New York-Vermont border. The clash ended in defeat for Arnold, but bought valuable time for the Continental Army.

While travelling for wellness feels like a modern phenomenon, the Romans were known to travel to thermal baths as early as the 2nd century BC. The earliest spas—the Latin word for which, ‘salus per aquam,’ translates to ‘health from water’—were considered integral to a healthy life. Roman legionaries would sooth their sore muscles in natural spring water and thermal treatments were prescribed to relieve physical ailments. Centuries later and Italy continues to take their spas seriously.

The state of Utah has taken the first steps and applied for grants for a railroad line that goes directly from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. 

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Lake Hamana Flower Expo, which attracted over 5 million visitors, Lake Hamana Flower Expo 2024 is set to take place next spring with tickets now on sale. Set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Hamana, the colourful event will take place for almost two months at two venues: Hamamatsu Flower Park from March 23rd to June 16th and Hamanako Garden Park from April 6th to June 2nd. Visitors will be able to enjoy stunning gardens such as the ‘Cherry Blossom and Tulip Garden’, one of the most beautiful in the world, as well as those designed by world-famous garden designers including Kazuyuki Ishihara, who to date has won 12 gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show and has been praised by the late Queen Elizabeth as ‘the gardening magician’. Additionally, new gardens are being exclusively designed for the expo alongside cutting-edge attractions including interactive digital installations and Japan’s largest nighttime projection mapping.

Driving through Chicago is one of the great miseries of my life. 

Five hours after leaving Chicago, we ran out of pavement. At the tip of the Door Peninsula in northeastern Wisconsin, the ice cream parlors disappeared. The wine shops and art galleries, too. Just a simple tollbooth, and the breakwaters beyond, and a small archipelago gathered like clouds on the horizon. A grinning crewman waved us aboard a 92-ton ferry, and before my wife, Mel, and I could exit our car, the Arni J. Richter was plowing through Lake Michigan. Like us, it seemed eager to flee the crowds.

I want a “full force” summer this year. Snow cones, inner tubes, bug spray, camp weeks, s’mores, all of it. I had quite the schedule lined up, including a night camping under the stars to spot falling stars and a dinner party right on the beach with a bonfire to boot. So far, I kicked off this “full force” summer right with a stay at Lake Austin Spa, a proper spa but camp-vibes resort right on the waterfront of Austin’s lazy water reservoir beloved by boaters and proud Texans. It’s the summer resort for what I call “spa camp,” an indulgent adult way to savor excellent spa treatments while taking in the no-fuss hospitality of Texas from a hammock or boat dock.

In the dining room of the Wasdale Head Inn, explorer and climber Leo Houlding is inspecting the walls, looking back 150 years to the origins of mountain adventure as a sport. On a shelf is a stack of old hobnail boots, a pair of ice axes crossed above a brace of canvas haversacks, and glorious black-and-white photographs of the pioneers: the tweedy chaps who first came up with the nonsensical notion that scaling rock faces and mountains might be fun.

Alfred Wainwright’s coast-to-coast trail through Cumbria and North Yorkshire over mountains and moorland is one of the UK’s most popular long-distance walks, with an estimated 6,000 people completing the whole 197 miles each year, and lots more walking shorter sections. In August 2022 the government announced it would become England’s newest national trail. About the same time, the Borrowdale Royal Oak hotel in Rosthwaite, near Derwentwater and right on the route, reopened after a £1.3m refurbishment with a sustainable focus (and free cake).