The Only Country Celebrating the Autumn Equinox as a National Holiday
Many cultures have fall festivals, but only one makes the arrival of astronomical autumn a national holiday: Shubun no Hi. What’s more, Japan does it twice a year, also making March’s Vernal Equinox Day the holiday Shunbun no Hi. Shubun no... Read more
Italian Wine Beyond Tuscany: 3 Other Regions Worth Drinking In
We love Tuscany, too. But Italy has 20 wine-producing regions. Why should Chianti have all the fun? Head north, east, and very south from Tuscany for three deliciously different wine adventures. Tuscany has become almost shorthand for Italian wine travel: cypress-lined... Read more
Scotland's Greatest Summer Spectacle: the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Every August, something remarkable happens on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The ancient fortress, perched atop the craggy remnants of a volcano in the center of Scotland’s capital city, becomes the backdrop for one of the world's most moving and... Read more
Gaudí at 100: Barcelona's Most Famous Architect "Raising the Roof" of the City
One hundred years after his death, Antoni Gaudí remains impossible to separate from Barcelona. The Catalan architect died on June 10, 1926, one of the most defining architects of any era, tragically struck down by a tram. A century later, his... Read more
Opera by the Sea: Where World-Class Music Meets the Waterfront
The world’s waterfronts are undergoing incredible transformations, from no-go industrial sites to revitalized centers of urban lifestyle and community living. Increasingly, the centerpiece of that renaissance… is a landmark, architectural marvel music hall. Often labeled ‘opera houses,’ these venues are the... Read more
Why is it Called ‘Easter’ Island?
You likely already know that’s a trick question. This tiny dot in the eastern South Pacific Ocean, but technically a territory of Chile, is actually properly called Rapa Nui. The world over, Easter Island has been synonymous with exotic mysteries of... Read more
Cuisine to Caftans: Latest Cultural Heritage of Humanity Listings Inspire Travel
For the first time, a country’s entire cuisine has been recognized as part of the “Intangible Cultural Heritage” of humanity. It was an astonishing moment at the announcement of UNESCO’s 2025 listings that annually celebrate living cultural traditions – and... Read more
Amsterdam at 750: Still the City of the Future
In 1275, no one could ever have imagined that a simple dam on the Amstel River would become a city that pioneered so many elements of modern life in the 21st century. As Amsterdam marks ¾ of a millennium, travel... Read more
Celebrate Jane Austen's 250th Birthday in Britain
If the famous line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” makes you smile affectionately and fantasize about the green pastures, elegant architecture, style... Read more
When is the Jamaican Rum You're Drinking Not Jamaican?
It’s only champagne if it’s from Champagne. Ham from Parma is equally exclusive. And now, some rum producers in Jamaica are causing quite a ‘stir’– working to tighten rules that identify varieties of the Caribbean’s most famous spirit by ‘appellation’... Read more