Tainan
Taiwan’s oldest city accumulated temples, fortifications, and a culinary tradition over four centuries that Taipei, for all its scale and energy, cannot match. It is best understood slowly, on foot, with no fixed itinerary.
Stories
Kanazawa
On the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa escaped the bombing raids of the Second World War and came through with its castle town intact — samurai districts, a geisha quarter, and one of Japan’s three great gardens, all within walking distance of each other.
Johnston Canyon Resort, Banff
At the mouth of one of the Canadian Rockies’ most dramatic gorges, Johnston Canyon Resort has placed guests inside the landscape since the 1920s — its red-roofed cabins strung along Johnston Creek, with a canyon trail beginning at the front door.
Montenegro: Ten Days on the Adriatic
From the border crossing at Vitaljina to the cement swimming platforms of Perast, a family trip through Herceg Novi, Petrovac, Kotor, and the Bay of Kotor.
Barrandov Studios: Hollywood on the Vltava
On the southern edge of Prague, one of Europe’s largest film studios has been quietly turning out blockbusters for nearly a century — and you can visit.
Upstate NY
North of the city, the Hudson Valley has been drawing artists and weekenders for two centuries — river towns with outsized art scenes, Catskill trails above the old resort plateau, farm stands running into October, and foliage that peaks somewhere between mid-September and late October depending on the year.
Bohemian Switzerland
Where the Elbe cuts through northwest Bohemia, sandstone towers rise from dense pine forest in formations so improbable they look designed. Europe’s largest natural arch, a gorge navigable only by flat-bottomed boat, and some of the region’s most dramatic hiking — all within reach of Prague.
Kutná Hora
An hour east of Prague, Kutná Hora built its Gothic skyline on medieval silver wealth — then spent the money on architecture that still stands. The Sedlec Ossuary, decorated with the bones of 40,000 people, is one of the strangest and most compelling rooms in Europe.
Český Krumlov
A medieval castle the size of a small city overlooks a tight river bend and a cobblestoned old town that fills quickly — and justifiably so. Come in shoulder season on a weekday and you might find it closer to a secret.
East End, Portland
Portland’s East End waterfront trades in Maine’s best strengths: lobster rolls kept simple, fried clams, and a food truck lineup that shifts with the seasons. The Eastern Promenade beyond is the reward — wide water views and a quiet end to a busy city day.
Golden Circle
Iceland’s most famous driving loop takes in three genuinely extraordinary natural features — a rift valley where two tectonic plates visibly pull apart, a geyser that erupts on a reliable schedule, and a waterfall of almost unreasonable scale. Crowded in summer and worth every moment of it.
South Coast
Black sand beaches, sea stacks rising straight from the surf, waterfalls that fall directly onto the road, and glaciers pushing down from the icecap to the water’s edge — it is the version of Iceland that photographs best, and it earns every image.