Culture

5 Things You Must Do In Melbourne
By Everett Potter Melbourne may be Australia’s second city, but it’s charming, with a trove of architectural treasures and deep cultural roots. As one local wag told me, “Sydney’s the movie, Melbourne’s the book.” By all means, hop on and off the free City Circle Tram, and visit the National

Paris is Always a Good Idea
Words & photographs by Deborah Loeb Bohren If not a frequent visitor to Paris, I am most definitely a repeat visitor. I made my first trip there in the mid-‘80s for $99 on People Express (remember them?). Since then, I have gone for as little as four days and as long

This Is What It’s Like To Have Dinner with a Count and Countess at Their Castle Deep in the Austrian Alps
By Mark Orwoll Elisabeth Gürtler moves effortlessly, gracefully, through the woody, clublike corridors of the Alpin Resort Sacher, the recently rebranded Hotel Astoria, in Seefeld, Austria. The mountain views are magnificent from every window. The deeply upholstered lounge furniture calls out for cuddling. And the life-size toy sheep seemingly bleat to

Prints For Wildlife: Safeguarding Africa’s Wild Areas
By Everett Potter Prints for Wildlife, a pioneering photographic print fundraiser featuring world-class nature photographers, is returning in 2022. The organization raised $1.75 million for the non-profit African Parks as a result of two earlier print sales, selling more than 15,000 unique wildlife prints. It comes back this year with

10 Reasons To Love Córdoba, Spain, Right Now
La Casas de la Juderia, Cordoba. Courtesy of the hotel. By Ann Abel Córdoba, the second city of Spain’s sultry Andalusia region, may not get all the attention of its more famous neighbor, Seville. That’s fine: Córdoba—which still attracts its own fair share of visitors, to be sure—dazzles with its

Celebrating Black History Month and a Valentine Sealed with a Kiss
SOPHY Hyde Park, the 98-room boutique hotel that was named one of “The Best New Hotels in the World” by the editors of Travel + Leisure, is located in the vibrant heart of Chicago’s historic Hyde Park neighborhood. This is one of the most dynamic and culturally diverse areas

History and Heritage in Alexandria, Virginia
By Ruth J. Katz “A customer can have a car painted any color he wants, as long as it’s black,” thus sayeth Henry Ford, or at least, supposedly sayeth Henry Ford. You might say that Brandon Byrd, the ice cream impresario of Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats in Alexandria, VA,

Oahu: A Photo Essay by Karen Glenn
By Karen Glenn Most people know Oahu as a place for tourists—Waikiki shines as a beacon for visitors from around the world, both during summer vacation months and, for obvious reasons, in the winter. But there is another Oahu, the spaces enjoyed by kama’aina, the people who live there. This

Discovering the Mohawk Culture of Akwesasne
By Bart Beeson For Evan Cree, making a wooden lacrosse stick using traditional methods involves getting to know the piece of wood you’re working with. “I like to say that I take the stick and talk to it for a while,” he explains, while shaving down the piece of hickory

Hidden in Plain Sight: An Alternative Vision of American History in Washington D.C.
Story by K. Mitchell Snow Photos by Paul Clemence Everyone knows what Washington, DC is supposed to look like: the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the White House and the monuments to Jefferson and Lincoln all proclaim US democracy’s debt to ancient Greece. More contemporary ideas about a truly inclusive democracy