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.
Topic
Heritage
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.
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.
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.
Perast
Perast sits on the northwestern shore of the inner Bay of Kotor, a town of perhaps 350 people that was once one of the most important maritime centers on the Adriatic.
Bay of Kotor
Often described as Europe’s southernmost fjord, the Bay of Kotor cuts into the Montenegrin coast like a secret — limestone mountains dropping straight to calm dark water, medieval towns clinging to the shore, connected inlets each with their own character. First-time visitors arrive expecting something pretty and leave stunned.
Kotor
Enclosed by medieval walls that climb a hillside to a Venetian fortress, Kotor’s old town is one of the most intact on the Adriatic — marble streets, stone piazzas, and an improbable number of cats. Compact enough to cover in an afternoon, worth staying far longer.