Conde Nast Traveler 2020-12 UserUpload Net

DECEMBER 2020

where

willtaketravel

us in 2021

contentsURBAN BEAT

Energetic Lagos, Africa’s

largest city and one of its

most creative, moves to

a rhythm of its own

PAGE 64

INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN

In these strange times,

Americans have focused

on rediscovering their

country—and each other

PAGE 84

EN PLEIN AIR

Bucolic and beautiful,

France’s oft-overlooked

Jura region remains

unfazed by passing trends

PAGE 74

OFF TRACK

Aboard Russia’s remote

Trans-Siberian Railway,

passengers find

stillness in motion

PAGE 86

Winter light in Khilok, on the Trans-Siberian Railway

2 CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER DECEMBER 2020

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Conjure the spirit of the incredible places you have ventured to.

Savor the world of fine flavors you experienced onboard and on your explorations.

Now imagine your next voyage of discovery.

It’s all ahead of you.

#RememberTheFuture

REMEMBER

THE FUTURE

WORD OF MOUTH

The diverse cuisine of the

African American diaspora;

charting the rise of slow

travel; a spate of recently

opened oceanside hotels in

the Northeast have warming

appeal; a new Maori tourism

experience on New Zealand’s

North Island; and more

PAGE 13

WHY WE TRAVEL

After a year of travel

dreams deferred, we

catalog our plans for 2021

and beyond, from luxury

road trips and visits to our

closest international

neighbors to those once2in2

a2lifetime journeys, from

Angola to Antarctica, we’ve

always wanted to take

PAGE 33

A TRAVELER’S TALE

While filming in Rome,

actor Kiki Layne embraces

her inner tourist

PAGE 96

contents

Textiles on display at a market in Uzbekistan


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OUR MOST POTENT RETINOL.

So where will travel take us in 2021? With our single global eye

focused on the current pandemic, it has been nothing short of

fantastical to see how misinformation, massaged stats, inverted

realities, and plainclothes lies have blossomed almost as fast as the

disease. Where travel will actually take us next year is an impossible

question, because both COVID-19 and the rules around it are like

unmanned hoses flying chaotically around our garden.

Where should travel take us is the pertinent inquiry. To the people

doing good work. To the operators benefiting those around them. To

the pioneers thinking beyond the short-term toward a more mutually

sustainable business model. And yet just as the environment has

never been so threatened, there are those who wish to take advan-

tage by putting a sheen on their green intentions. Who make a lot of

noise spending money to amplify their eco-messages and dazzle the

audience rather than create an actual difference. Greenwashing is on

the rise. Such sinister and active duplicity leads to murky decision-

making for those who truly want to travel more meaningfully. So

here is a shout-out to some industry players who are honest and

dynamic and have good pedigree in terms of considered action.

Suján has some of the most beautiful properties in India and is

run by the debonair Jaisal and Anjali Singh, who focus tirelessly

on rewilding. It was the first hotel group in India to charge guests a

mandatory conservation-contribution levy. Through its three

seasonal camps, it has contributed half a million dollars in five years—

brilliant relative to its small number of beds. It also funds schools

and provides a free mobile medical unit and sanitation program for

the villages in its area. Meanwhile, its anti-poaching work is the best

in the business; Ranthambore National Park has gone from 37 tigers

in 2010 to more than 65 at the beginning of 2020.

In Africa, perhaps I would head to the Borana Conservancy in

Kenya but also to the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in South Africa,

whose commitment to encouraging biodiversity is also behind the

Brenthurst Foundation, a think tank inspiring real change in busi-

ness and visitors alike. In Indonesia, there is the astonishing Misool

MelindaLP

MELINDA STEVENS

EDITOR IN CHIEF

On the CoverA colorful doorway at

the Imperial Abbey of

Baume-les-Messieurs,

in Jura, France.

Photographed by Ana Lui

Subscribe

Visit cntraveler.com/

subscribe,

email subscriptions@

condenasttraveler.com,

or call 800-777-0700.

The Editor’s Letter

Neuschwanstein

Castle in southwest

Bavaria, Germany.

Photographed

by Sanela Ibraimi

(@doounias)

Follow us on Instagram @cntraveler

Private Marine Reserve, protecting some of the world’s most ecolog-

ically significant coral reefs. It’s a rare example of a for-profit busi-

ness that publishes fully transparent reports and ticks environmental,

social, and economic sustainability boxes. Also impressive is Lapa

Rios ecolodge in Costa Rica, which has won every award going, based

on the principle that, in the words of its owners, “no matter how you

slice it, a rain forest left standing is worth more than it is cut down.”

As biologist and naturalist Edward O. Wilson outlines in his book

Half-Earth, we must strive to conserve 50 percent of the planet’s land

and sea if we’re to get things back on track.

And yet it’s not just the indie hotels that are holding up their chins:

Hilton has impressively reduced its CO₂ emissions in the past decade

and also has a corporate-responsibility measurement platform,

Lightstay, to track the environmental footprint of its significant

number of properties. And it’s when the big players get involved that

it becomes exciting, when it feels real progress can be made.

Welcome to the new issue of Condé Nast Traveler. A place that cele-

brates openness, transparency, and accountability, those who are

putting in the effort to protect our planet, and those who live on it.

Because that’s where I want to travel to next.


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R E A D Y T O S L E E P O R G A N I C ?

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Call it a “bucket list” or #goals. Whatever

terminology suits you, the iconic cities and idyllic

villages of Southeast Asia await your exploration.

And how you get there has never mattered more.

Cathay Pacific’s consistently award-winning service

ensures that every step of your journey is

thoughtful, comfortable, and stress-free. Wherever

you choose to go in the world, within the vast

network of Cathay Pacific, you’re going with

confidence and style.

Fresh off a relaxing flight, where the menu of

entertainment is rivaled only by the exceptional

dining options, you could find yourself in Bangkok,

a city known for its breathtaking energy and

dazzling contrasts. This fast-paced technicolor

metropolis is not for the faint of heart. The thrill of

the unexpected lies around every corner, whether

in the astounding cookery served up by

unassuming street vendors on Yaowarat Road or

the serenity of saffron-robed monks at a glittering

wat at sunrise.

Follow the Chao Phraya to the city’s most treasured

sights and experiences, from the Grand Palace to

the bustling floating markets. Or cruise upstream to

spend the day exploring the ancient capital,

Ayutthaya. Thailand’s riverfront hotels are

legendary for their indulgent hospitality; you’ll earn

your luxurious repose—and wake refreshed to do it

all over again.

If your idea of a “beyond” getaway is Vietnam,

you’re not alone. This once-sleepy outpost, beloved

by backpackers, has transformed itself into a

sophisticated traveler’s mecca. Ho Chi Minh City

has something for everyone: fantastic shopping,

whether it be for au courant fashions or decorative

It’s time to plan some

travel—and time to think

big. Set your sights on a

storied destination like

Thailand or Vietnam, and

choose a five-star airline to

carry you there.

BEYOND

EXPECTATIONS

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Bangkok, Thailand


housewares; a thriving restaurant and nightlife scene,

and a fascinating mix of architectural styles reflecting

the country’s vivid history.

Rest assured, Vietnam can still satisfy any urge for

tranquil shores and verdant countryside. Head up the

coast to Da Nang and discover secluded bays,

dramatic cliffs, and the sheer perfection of China

Beach.

Cathay Pacific is the premier airline to Southeast

Asia. Dozens of top tourist attractions are within easy

reach from the airline’s hub in Hong Kong (where you

can relax in style at Cathay Pacific’s renowned First

and Business Class lounges during a short stopover).

Across all classes of service, a commitment to guests’

well-being has always been in the brand’s DNA—look

no further than the industry-leading Skytrax Awards,

where Cathay Pacific has ranked among the World’s

Best for cabin cleanliness for five consecutive years.

Cathay Care, its latest program, ensures peace of

mind with contactless check-in and boarding,

HEPA-filtered cabin air, flexibility in re-booking, and

other thoughtful measures attuned to today’s needs.

If you’re ready to travel beyond your wildest dreams,

one airline is poised to take you there.

For more information, visit

cathaypacific.com/beyond.

Be sure to consult trusted travel advisories for the

latest information on travel to these and other

destinations.

LEARN MORE AT CATHAYPACIFIC.COM/BEYOND

China Beach, Da Nang, Vietnam

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The people, places, and ideas we’re talking about right now

word of mouth

A server on

the terrace of

La Colombe d’Or,

St-Paul-de-

Vence, France

Introducing:

The 1 in 10 ProjectIt’s our way of celebrating the people of travel—and sharing their tips and insights with you—as we look ahead to life after the pandemic

This month, Condé Nast Traveler

will launch a new platform that

takes its name from the 1 in 10

people worldwide who work in

jobs connected directly or indi-

rectly with tourism, according to

data from the World Travel &

Tourism Council. These are the

concierges and the taxi drivers,

13CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER DECEMBER 2020

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In late September the legendary editor and writer Sir Harold Evans passed away

in New York City at the age of 92. Evans was responsible for the some of the most

important investigative journalism of the second half of the 20th century in his role

as editor of the Sunday Times and other titles in the U.K. and the U.S. He also left

an enormous mark on the craft of travel writing by founding Condé Nast Traveler

in 1987. Its philosophy was to “tell the truth8 be honest8 mediate8 try and make

people’s travel experiences enjoyable and good8 and do it from the point of view

of an informed traveler8” as Evans said three years ago in an interview to mark the

30th anniversary of the magazine. To articulate this mission8 he coined the slogan

“Truth in Travel8” which has acquired new resonance in an era when far-reaching

global events regularly affect our travel decisions. To read reminiscences about

Evans by colleagues like Christopher Buckley8 Robert Sullivan8 Gully Wells8 and

others8 visit cntraveler.com.

REMEMBERING HAROLD EVANS

The long legacy of the crusading newspaperman and publisher includes this very magazine

the bush guides and the sommeliers,

the flight attendants and the house-

keepers we all encounter every time

we take a trip. Without them it

would be nigh impossible to go any-

where or do anything, of course, but

they’re also the key to why we love

travel. When we think back on what

made the journey great, it is so often

their kindness, their wisdom, and

their good humor.

These folks’ lives and livelihoods

have been disproportionately impact-

ed by the COVID-19 pandemic, as

they so often are by crises that affect

travel and the global economy. We

know that you, our readers, increas-

ingly make travel decisions based on

how you can have a positive impact.

The 1 in 10 Project is conceived in

that spirit, with the goal of sharing

stories from the amazing people who

work in travel, passing along their

recommendations about what to see

and do, sharing their insights, their

passions, their jokes. We’ll be building

it out online all next year with first-

person accounts of what it is like to do

certain jobs in the travel industry

and how people in the business spend

their time when they’re not working,

plus guided video tours and more.

The spirit of the project imbues

our roundup in this issue of where—

and how—we think people will be

traveling next year: often to classic

destinations, slowly and immersively,

driven by the desire to get outside,

to find out who we are, and to be with

people we love. (In making these

plans, of course, we hope everyone

is following CDC recommendations

and local guidelines.) Consider it

not only an action plan but also a call

to support all those who make travel

great. Look for more about where

to go in 2021 online, and for updates

on the 1 in 10 Project, please sign

up for my new newsletter, What’s

Next for Travel, at cntraveler.com.

jesse ashlock, editor, u.s.


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word of mouth → in the air

Palate ShiftThese rising star chefs highlight the extraordinary diversity of Black cuisine across the U.S.

“In the European narrative of food, you’d never

assume French and Italian chefs cook the same

dishes,” says Marcus Samuelsson. “But for Black

food in America, it often boils down to one

thing”—a set of heavy Southern dishes. In his new

cookbook, The Rise, the Swedish Ethiopian chef

who modernized soul food with his Harlem restau-

rant, Red Rooster, rips that idea to shreds, with

the help of James Beard Award–winning writer

Osayi Endolyn. The book contains profiles of the

country’s leading chefs of color along with their

recipes, spotlighting the range and nuance of

Black and other BIPOC cuisines. Here, three of

its subjects share their feelings about where they

fit in the culinary scape of their cities and other

local chefs of color they admire. noah kaufman

Edouardo Jordan, Seattle

The Florida native sees this as an opportune moment to challenge the

white-dominated narrative of the Emerald City’s restaurant landscape,

which is why he helped organize the Soul of Seattle food festival in

February. “The goal was to bring awareness to the Black chefs who

are the fabric of Seattle’s culinary scene and oftentimes get placed in

the back,” says Jordan, owner of the Southern-leaning JuneBaby,

high-end Salare, and elegant Lucinda Grain Bar, who trained at the French

Laundry. Soul of Seattle featured some of his favorites: flavorful

Caribbean by Trey Lamont at Jerk Shack in Belltown; jalapeño hush pup-

pies from Donna Moodie of Marjorie in Capitol Hill; and the Northwest.

inflected soul food of Kristi Brown, chef of the new Communion.

junebabyseattle.com; lucindaseattle.com; salarerestaurant.com

BJ Dennis, Charleston, S.C.

There may be no better spokesperson for Gullah food than Dennis,

whose pop-ups at cafés like Butcher & Bee feature heritage grains and

other dishes eaten by the first Africans in America. But ask him about his

role in telling the Gullah story and he’s quick to share credit. “I’ve been

blessed to get recognition, but what is recognition without shining light

on those who have been doing it longer than me?” Some of his favorites

in North Charleston include Nigel’s Good Food, for the Geechee wings,

and Nana’s Seafood & Soul, for Kenyatta McNeil’s garlic blue crabs.

In the fishing town of McClellanville, he loves Buckshot’s Restaurant,

a “pure Gullah Geechee establishment” with fabulous okra rice.

Chef Edouardo Jordan

Chef BJ Dennis at Butcher & Bee

Lucinda Grain Bar’s brownie

Shrimp and grits at JuneBaby

The pickle corner at JuneBaby


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word of mouth → eat here now

The influential 2003 book 1,000 Places to

See Before You Die and the 2007 movie

The Bucket List both contributed to the

travel trend that has dominated this

century: the manic race to visit as many

places as possible. This imperative has

been spurred on by the proliferation

of competitive airfares, the growth of

the global middle class, and, during the

last decade, Instagram envy. But more

recently countervailing forces have

emerged, like flight-shaming and

restrictions imposed by destinations

suffering from over-tourism, like Iceland

and Angkor Wat. Then came the reset

of COVID-19. As travelers made do with

cocktails on Zoom and Duolingo Italian

lessons, the air in India became clear

enough to see the Himalayas again and

Barcelonians reclaimed the usually

thronged Las Ramblas for themselves.

Now, as the world begins to open back

up, many providers are seeking to

preserve those benefits by embracing

the growing ethos of slow travel. The

new Dolce Tempo trips (that’s Italian for

“sweet time”) from Backroads focus on

what the outfitter calls “easygoing” hiking

and biking itineraries in locales like Zion

National Park and the Loire Valley meant

to draw in travelers who might ordinarily

opt for the view from the tour bus. Since

the pandemic, the Arctic-focused operator

Secret Atlas has added a 15-day circum-

navigation of the island of Spitsbergen, in

Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, aboard

a 12-passenger ship, a route larger cruise

lines do in eight days. And New York–

based travel agency Embark Beyond

created Embark Longer, devoted to stays

of a month or more at roughly 95 resorts

worldwide. In this time-out from

checklist-driven travel, fast-and-furious

ambitions bow to slow-and-curious

immersions. elaine glusac

Nyesha Arrington, Los Angeles “People think by looking at me that I might cook

soul food,” says the former Top Chef and American

Bocuse d’Or finalist, who is Black, Korean, and

Native American. Instead, she uses her razor-

sharp techniques to create sunny California dishes

that honor her mixed heritage, like kimchi latkes

and cassava gnocchi. Having closed her Santa

Monica restaurant, Native, in 201., she adapted to

the realities of cooking in 2020, airing the virtual

series Improv Kitchen and hosting Zoom classes.

When eating out, she favors John Cleveland’s

soul-inflected California cuisine at Post & Beam

in Baldwin Hills; Brandoni Pepperoni, Brandon

Gray’s West Hollywood takeout-only pizza place;

and the pork lumpia at new Petite Peso from

Filipina chef Ria Barbosa. chefnyesha.com

the rise: black cooks and

the soul of american food

(hachette books) is available on amazon for $38.

Chef Nyesha Arrington in Venice Beach

PUMPING THE BRAKESIn response to the pandemic, operators—and travelers—are adopting the principles of the slow travel movement


This year, we all have collectively been under a

great deal of pressure—some of us had to

quickly learn to work remote, some had to juggle

their kids’ online schooling, some had to work on

the frontlines, others had to figure out ways to

pivot their careers. Don’t we all deserve a break?

While it’s true that this year vacations don’t look

quite the same as in the past, we should still take

the time to decompress and destress. So if you

got ‘em (vacation days, that is), take ‘em! Do

whatever you can—if that means an afternoon, a

couple of days, or an extended break—to bring

joy into your life.

Here, some ideas of how to make the most

of a well-deserved “pause.”

If you have an afternoon:

· Start a LEGO® set. Take the time to disconnect

and renew your creative side by building things

that you are passionate about. Journey to Dubai

as you recreate the city’s iconic buildings

through the LEGO Architecture Skyline

Collection Dubai model.

· Read that best-seller that’s been on your

nightstand for too long.

· Research your dream trip.

· Start your online shopping for the holidays.

If you have a few days:

· Explore your neighborhood. Now’s the time to

try that local restaurant you have had your eye on.

· Start and finish a LEGO set, such as the LEGO

Architecture San Francisco, part of the Skyline

Collection, which features iconic landmarks such

as the Golden Gate Bridge.

· Organize your bullet journal with pages for travel

ideas, to-do lists, long-term goals, and more.

If you have longer:

· Enjoy the outdoors. If it’s cold, try glamping for

a meaningful yet more comfortable nature

experience.

· Start an intricate LEGO set like the 1,767-piece

Empire State Building, a highly detailed LEGO

Architecture replica of one of New York City’s

most famous buildings.


A DIFFERENT TYPE

OF STAYCATION

· Take an online master class to try something

new or hone your existing craft—from

photography to interior design to travel writing.

While your vacation may not be the same this

year, it can still be a rewarding experience—one

that lets you rediscover your inner joy and

reconnect with your passions.

A D ULTS WELCOME. F IND THE PERFECT LEGO SET FOR Y OU RSELF AT LEGO.C OM / ADU LTS

The Empire State Building name and images® are registered

trademarks of ESRT Empire State Building, L.L.C and are

used with permission.

A D U L T S W E L C O M EShop sets at LEGO.com/Adults

LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group.

©2020 The LEGO Group.

Hammetts Hotel, Newport

The late-August opening meant

summer sunset drinks on the

patio were only briefly possible

this year. But the space is

enclosed during the winter

months, with a menu of seasonal

cocktails to choose from as

the low New England sun goes

down (at 4:30, mind you).

The maritime-themed hotel is

walking distance from historic

Thames Street, where the

Italian hot spot Vieste serves up

warming bowls of local mussels.

Or ask the cheery staff at

Hammetts if you can take a plate

of steamy littlenecks from on-

site restaurant Giusto out to the

heated waterfront deck. Doubles

from $124; hammettshotel.com

The Rockaway Hotel,

Queens, New York

New York City’s most unexpect-

ed new hotel opened on Labor

Day weekend, which means

guests will have to bundle up on

the beach till next year. The

good news is it’s possible to surf

here year-round; a partnership

with Locals Surf School means

guests get wetsuits, boards, and

an instructor to help them out.

The Scandi-chic atmosphere

inside, all blond woods and

clean lines, works for the cooler

months—just the kind of vibe

you want for kicking back with a

hot toddy after a windswept day

on the boardwalk. Doubles from

$250; therockawayhotel.com

Life House Nantucket

December is the end of whale-

watching season off Cape Cod,

so throw on an extra-woolly

sweater to see the humpbacks

before they start their journey to

warmer waters. Then head back

to the three-month-old hotel for

a scotch, neat, by the fire. If you

find being on the open water too

frigid, check out the holiday

lights in town or try your hand

at seasonally appropriate on-site

activities like wine tasting and

sourdough baking—assuming

you didn’t perfect that last skill

in quarantine. Doubles from

$349; lifehousehotels.com

Winter by the ShoreTurns out these new Northeast oceanside spots are great in the cold

Nothing about last summer was

typical, including the delayed opening

of several much-anticipated beach-

front properties until the season was

just winding down. But there’s a silver

lining: All are worth hitting up during

a midwinter break. Think of a cozy

long weekend taking in stormy

Atlantic views from a gigantic, warm

bed; unwinding by the fireplace;

and seaside restaurants frequented

by locals who know the special magic

of the area outside the tourist crush.

If you need an extra nudge to visit the

beach when the weather isn’t beachy,

remember how meaningful it is to

bring business to these communities,

which were so hard-hit by the loss of

the summer season. andrew sessa

The living room at Life House Nantucket

December in Quidnet, Nantucket


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word of mouth → off-season

©2020 L’Oréal USA, Inc.

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KEEPING THE FAITH

Houston’s redone

Rothko Chapel provides more

of the quiet moments we

need right now

Anantara’s new 12-guest Vietage, a vintage rail car attached to a contemporary

train and refitted to resemble a 1930s carriage, elevates the journey between

historic Hô. i An and coastal Quoy Nho’n. Travelers rumble past the fourth-

century temples of Trà Kiê.u in semiprivate cabin seats—or, if they really need

a reset, from a window-facing massage chair. The train doesn’t make stops

during the six hours, but a three-course meal brings in flavors from the

outside, including onion from Lý Son island and seafood from Quy Nho’n.

Trips can start or end with stays at an Anantara in either city, but passengers

don’t need to be hotel guests to enjoy the ride. erin florio

It’s All About

the Journey

In 1964, Houston art collectors John and Dominique de Menil commis-

sioned Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko to create 14 floor-to-ceiling

paintings for what would become known as the Rothko Chapel, a space

for people of all beliefs. A steel sculpture by Barnett Newman dedicated

to Martin Luther King Jr. hovers above a reflecting pool outside.

The chapel reopened in September following the first phase of a

$30 million renovation. For years the interior was so dark Rothko’s canvas-

es appeared monochromatic, but a new skylight makes it easier to detect

the depth of the brushstrokes and subtle gradients of blue and purple,

which change when one lingers long enough for the sun and clouds to

shift through the oculus. In the lobby, dimmed lights and a darker shade

of paint allow visitors’ eyes to adjust before entering the sanctuary.

The rest of the chapel’s expansion, to be completed by late 2023,

includes another meditation garden, a public plaza, and a new

program center for the nonprofit’s regular events. Executive director

David Leslie says these developments help “the continued work of the

chapel in the sense of building relationships and dealing with hard

social issues.” The space has always invited reflection, something these

difficult times call for, and now more than ever it is able to carry out

its mission: to be a place of peace. emma balter

rothkochapel.org

Artfully Done

In October, Louis Vuitton unveiled its second line of ArtyCapucines, a capsule collection of five handbags, each designed by a different contempo-rary artist. The original, barefaced Capucines bag, named after the Paris street where Vuitton opened his first store in 1854, offers an ideal canvas for expression, like the kaleidoscopic version (below) by Brazilian abstractionist Beatriz Milhazes that incorporates 18 different types of leather. betsy blumenthal


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word of mouth → out in the world

Uptown FunkInterior designer Sara Ruffin

Costello on the suddenly vibrant, tree-lined precinct of New Orleans where her new

hotel hot spot just opened

Do not let the current ban on go-cups (the local term

for adult beverages that can be imbibed on the street)

stop you from coming to New Orleans. Spirits, as well

as delicious food, are still being served across the city.

In fact, I recently had one of the best crispy fish sand-

wiches I can recall in the lush courtyard at the renovated

Columns, the storied Italianate-style hotel that had

a star turn in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. Columns, on

St. Charles Avenue, is part of a larger renaissance taking

place in the verdant jumble of neighborhoods known

as Uptown, which stretches from the tip of the Central

Business District past Tulane and Audubon Park toward

the Mississippi River. Removed from the chaos of the

French Quarter, the area is a reservoir of calm.

Two years ago, LeBlanc + Smith, the restaurant group

behind NOLA favorite Sylvain, approached me to design

their first hotel, The Chloe, four blocks from Columns.

They were visualizing it as a clubby 14-room spot with

a pool, a restaurant, and two bars that would be as

much for locals as for out-of-towners. As I took in the

location, a rambling late-1800s mansion with terrifically

high ceilings, it was easy to imagine the past brushing

up against the present. Last month, The Chloe opened

with a vibe that blends Victorian decor’s greatest hits with

a contemporary art collection, luxe bathrooms, and

spacious guest rooms outfitted with turntables and a

thoughtful selection of albums, Louis Armstrong along-

side Lil Wayne. On the public floors, grand open spaces

give way to hidden alcoves1 the hotel, like the city itself,

is an excellent place to get lost.

Just a few blocks away on Freret Street, at a gas station

turned taqueria called Vals, it seems everyone is eating

tacos and sipping seriously potent margaritas. Meanwhile,

musicians have taken to the Uptown streets. On any given

night in the Garden District, homeowners stand on their

porches listening to local legends like David Torkanowsky

and Joe Krown, who’ve been performing on a white

grand piano mounted in the bed of a pickup truck. In a city

that revolves around live music, it’s a brilliant way to hear

it again. Liz Lambert, the doyenne of Texas hipster hospi-

tality, has also arrived in Uptown with a new property, the

St. Vincent Hotel, which is currently going up in the

Lower Garden District.

Still, despite all the buzz, Uptown’s old-guard charm

perseveres. Craving oysters Rockefeller, a friend and I

strolled into Vincent’s Italian Cuisine (the kind of place

you’d find Al Capone sipping Chianti) on a Saturday night,

hoping to snag a table. Tony, the maître d’, glanced around

the room. “No way, baby.” As we mulled over where to go

next, Tony appeared from some secret side room, smiling,

with menus. “C’mon,” he said. “You know I gotchoo.”

The lobby at New Orleans’s The Chloe


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When your spirits need a lift, certain sensations

can do the trick: the sound of waves washing

ashore; the sight of a glorious sunset; the

feeling of calm, steady power when you dip a

paddle in the water and set off to explore the

natural world. The Beaches of Fort Myers &

Sanibel has always been that kind of feel-good

destination—the place to go for a guaranteed

reboot of mind, body, and soul. In other words,

a place we need now more than ever.

Start your restorative journey in Fort Myers, a

charming Southwest Florida city brimming

with history and easygoing energy. To the west,

Fort Myers Beach and the islands (over 100!)

beckon—but before you answer their call,

pause to enjoy the lively downtown River

District. Stroll the brick-lined, palm-fringed

streets and discover all sorts of outdoor

shopping and dining temptations. You can be

among the first to check out the views from

the rooftop bar of the Luminary Hotel, a new

star of the downtown riverfront scene.

When it’s time to hop to the islands, you’ll

already be on island time, thanks to Fort Myers’

laidback style. Hit the scenic three-mile

causeway and alight on Sanibel Island, an

incomparable spot for connecting with nature’s

restorative power. Active types can bike over 25

miles of trails or paddle a kayak through the

mangrove estuary at J.N. “Ding” Darling National

Wildlife Refuge. Zen-seekers can comb the

beaches for seashells—one of the richest

collections in the world, thanks to Sanibel’s

unique shape and position in the Gulf of Mexico.

Social distancing has never felt so blissful.

EASY DOES IT

DISCOVER MORE AT FORTMYERS-SANIBEL.COM/PLAN-YOUR-TRIP

We’re all looking to

capture a certain feeling

again. Here’s the place

to do it.

The perfect feel-good getaway is ready when you

are. Keep exploring at

fortmyers-sanibel.com/plan-your-trip.

Visitors and locals are encouraged to stay up

to date and follow health and safety protocols.

@marrymeintravel strolling through downtown Fort Myers

Navigating North Captiva Island via golf cart Sanibel Island Lighthouse Beach Park

Marks the SpotOn New Zealand’s North Island, a new cultural center highlights those who were here first

According to Maori lore, the great Polynesian

explorer Kupe was the first person to reach the

then-uninhabited lands that would become known

to the Maori as Aotearoa and, eventually, to the rest

of the world as New Zealand. More than 1,000 years

later, the multimillion-dollar cultural center Manea

Footprints of Kupe opens this month near the spot

where Kupe’s canoe allegedly came ashore.

The area is now known as Hokianga and is sacred

to the Maori. Yet despite its cultural inheritance,

Hokianga’s isolation at the remote top of the North

Island, combined with urban migration, has made it

one of the country’s more depressed regions, even

with its native kauri forests and South Pacific waters

that glow like sapphires beside hills as bright as

limes. Manea, therefore, has two objectives: to show-

case Kupe’s discovery and the millennium’s worth of

Maori history that followed via interactive displays

and performance art, including traditional story-

telling and singing on grounds lined with Maori

carvings, and to provide an economic boost to the

region. One hundred percent of the institute’s

employees will be local Maori, all of whom can claim

direct lineage to Kupe himself. “We know travelers

want experiences where they can interact with and

talk to Maori people, that help support the communi-

ties,” says Kiri Atkinson-Crean of NZ Māori Tourism.

This is one reason her department plans to roll

out Indigenous-focused itineraries throughout the

North Island. Designed in alignment with the U.N.

Sustainable Development Goals to promote long-

term community development, these three-to-five-

day trips will take visitors through important

places, including Manea, the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal

Wonderland hot pools, and Maori temples, known

as maraes. They were meant to kick off in 2020, but

when COVID-19 closed New Zealand’s borders,

the launch was paused. Atkinson-Crean sees this

extra time as an asset. “It’s given us the ability to

make things more tailored,” she says. “When our

international travelers do return, they will feel more

connected to the product than ever.” erin florio

manea.co.nz

A pohutukawa tree at Hokianga Harbour

Maori carvings at the Otewa marae

A local girl in the village of Kaitaia


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TR I P S A R E H E R E!

cntrave ler.com /w w t tr ip s to read more and b o ok

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Few islands are as instantly recognizable as Saint Lucia. The iconic Pitons—two adjacent dormant

volcanoes, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site—crown the island’s southwestern

coast, forming a distinctive silhouette that evokes mystery and romance. Easy sophistication

balanced with unspoiled nature is the hallmark of a visit to Saint Lucia. Dozens of beaches, with

sands ranging from powder white to sparkling black, are lapped by the dazzling blue Caribbean.

And with an average year-round temperature of 82 degrees, the only thing warmer is the

welcome you’ll receive from locals. With air service from many U.S. gateways, Saint Lucia makes

it easy to get away this winter. And from the moment you arrive, you’ll find Covid-19 protocols in

place to ensure confidence and safety wherever you go.

ain t Lucia

EXCLUSIVE OFFERS AT STLUCIA.ORG/CONDENAST


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Create unforgettable moments of luxury, romance, wellness and adventure

at Ladera Resort St. Lucia. Rated one of the top five resorts in the Caribbean,

this intimate getaway is guided by an eco-friendly philosophy and located on

a volcanic ridge, 1,000 feet above the sea, on an UNESCO World Heritage

Site. Each suite boasts a heated pool and an “open wall” design, allowing for

breathtaking panoramas of the majestic Pitons and Caribbean Sea. Private

With stunning views and world-class amenities, Windjammer

Landing Villa Beach Resort is the epitome of Caribbean luxury.

A beautifully appointed collection of premium villas

overlooking 60 acres of coastline, it offers unprecedented

elegance and tranquility. Thanks to a $9 million renovation,

the resort’s suites and villas are among the most generous on

the island, with state-of-the-art kitchens and private pools.

Waves lapping the palm-fringed beach provide a soothing

soundtrack for guests reclining by one of six sparkling pools.

The Spa, a new wellness center, offers treatments for mind

and body designed by a local naturopathic doctor. Guests

enjoy complimentary water sports, and parents can relax

knowing their children and teens are being entertained in the

kids’ club. When the sun sets, dine at one of five a la carte

restaurants, headed by chef René Cahane; elsewhere,

beachside barbecues at Jammer’s and fine dining at Upper

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Visit windjammer-landing.com/ or

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car airport transfers are included for all guests along with access to the soon to

open 18,000 square-foot Ladera Spa, and breakfast at the award-winning

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Lucian spices. On the Ladera Ridge hike, exclusive to Ladera guests, you’ll feel

as if you can touch Petit Piton. Offsite adventures include ziplining, horseback

riding, snorkeling and more. The essence of this paradise is found among the

staff, who provide exceptional service in a friendly and luxurious ambiance.

Visit ladera.com/ or call 1-844-785-8242


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BodyHoliday has been a pioneering concept in the wellness travel industry

since it first opened in 1988. Famed for its unique approach to health, fitness,

and well-being, BodyHoliday continues to deliver on its initial promise: “Give us

your body for a week, and we’ll give you back your mind.” With its range of

therapies and activities, the 155-room resort offers guests everything from

archery to scuba diving, spinning to Pilates, Ayurvedic treatments to

acupuncture; a daily spa treatment is included for every guest during their stay.

The top-ranked 2020 TripAdvisor Travelers’

Choice Best of the Best Caribbean Luxury Hotels

award winner, this boutique resort boasts 36

expansive Plunge Pool Butler Suites designed for

the utmost in comfort and privacy. Expert butlers

arrange everything from breakfast in bed to

moonlight dinners and aromatherapy baths, while

farm-to-table dining includes 24-hour contactless

in-suite service. The award-winning Serenity Pool

and private mile-long beach entice couples to

venture out of their extravagant suites. Guests

can relax in poolside cabanas offering

undisturbed comfort at the Serenity Pool, with

plush furnishings and refreshments including

lunch or a candlelit dinner under the stars.

Oceanfront beach cabanas feature freshwater

showers, daybeds, and lounge chairs, along with

beverages, fresh towels, and a picnic lunch for

peak relaxation. When staying seven nights or

more, couples receive an additional $1,000 in

exclusive Serenity vacation luxuries. Every stay is

worry free with the resort’s comprehensive

Paradise Protection Protocols.

Visit serenityatcoconutbay.com or call

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aint Lucia

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Naturally, BodyHoliday’s philosophy of total wellness also includes a healthy,

holistic approach to food. Six restaurants and two bars offer guests a tantalizing

array of cuisines and dining styles, with personalized menus available as

needed for special diets. BodyHoliday runs a number of themed programs

throughout the year including September Solos, WellFit Families (July-August),

October Yoga, and more—all within a breathtaking Saint Lucia setting.

Visit bodyholiday.com or call 1-800-544-2883

Own It.Shop online for an unparalleled vintage photography collection. Exquisitely printed and framed.

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The experiences that change how we see the world

why we travel

Eco-minded Uxua, in Bahia, Brazil (page 59)

Where to Go in 2021This crazy year has changed so much about travel: the where, the how, and perhaps most importantly, the why. On the following pages we sketch out the myriad reasons for getting out there again next year—and the best and most meaningful ways to do it.


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The closest many of us got to that far-flung beach this year was a deep scroll through our Instagram feed. So next year we should all be going big and visiting places that are tough to pull off without help from an expert—the kinds of places that make for a once-in-a-lifetime escape. Think the hard- to-reach Angola wetlands in search of marshbuck, or areas of Antarctica typically seen only by scientists. Practically speaking, these are the types of trips that must be booked six months to a year in advance, so start planning. Below are five all-new getaways fit for a return to travel, organized by the best fixers around. ashlea halpern

Now’s the Time for That Dream Trip

Central Asia for Foodies

A tip for this 10-day culinary excursion through

the ancient trading routes of western China,

Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan: Pack pants with

an elastic waist. No one has offered a gastronomic

journey like this before, so Wild China tasked

Syrian Lebanese cookbook author Anissa Helou

to introduce guests to hand-pulled noodles and

sizzling kebabs in Song Kul, Bukhara-style plov,

and other regional bites you quite literally have

to travel far for. Few foreigners explore this

route, hopping from the autonomous Uighur

territory of Xinjiang to Kyrgyzstan, let alone

glean the insight that comes from intimate

moments like cooking with a Kazakh family in

Bishkek. A Gastronomic Tour Through Central Asia

With Wild China; wildchina.com

Uzbek tea and baklava pastry

Samarkand’s Hazrat Khizr Mosque


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Another India

Outdoor pioneers Red Savannah’s

nine-day passage through northern

India starts in the mystical

Himalayan town of Rishikesh,

where Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji

meets guests on the banks of the

Ganges River for a sacred aarti, or

candle ritual, followed by private

yoga in an ashram. Then it’s off to

Chandigarh for an exclusive

three-hour tour of Swiss French

architect Le Corbusier’s brutalist

hits, led by the dean of the

Chandigarh College of Architecture.

The final stop is Amritsar, home

of Sikhism’s holiest temple and the

theatrical Wagah-Attari border-

closing ceremony, where hard-to-get

seats will be waiting for you.

Amritsar and the Himalayan

Foothills With Red Savannah;

redsavannah.com

Multicolored façades in Chandigarh


Central America Done Right

Wild Frontiers has a knack for getting there first.

And though Central America is not new terrain, this

21-day odyssey through Nicaragua, Honduras,

Guatemala, and El Salvador takes daringly curious

travelers into pockets left off most itineraries. One

minute you’re learning about organic cacao production

with co-op farmers in a Nicaraguan cloud forest, the

next you’re picnicking on the volcanic isle of Zacatillo.

For every check off the dreamer’s bucket list

(exploring the Mayan ruins at Copán and Tikal, for

example), there’s something unexpected woven into

the itinerary—like a visit to the ancient archaeological

site of Quiriguá, home of the tallest stone monument

ever erected in the Americas. Central American

Odyssey; wildfrontierstravel.com

Africa’s Next Frontier

Even if you’ve already been to the Okavango Delta, this

trip to its source, in Angola, will feel phenomenally

different from anything you’ve encountered on the

continent before. That’s due in part to your guide,

legendary adventurer Richard Bangs, whose company,

MT Sobek, takes you on helicopters and boat safaris

on this nine-day trek into one of the world’s most

remote biospheres. Travelers embed with National

Geographic scientists studying the marshlands, track

sitatunga antelope on a tribespeople-led hike through

the little-visited Cubango Game Reserve, and swim

in pristine highland lakes that are the source of three

major rivers. Angola Expedition; mtsobek.com

A Can’t-Miss Cruise in the Polar South

After 2021’s total Antarctic solar eclipse, another isn’t set to happen

until 2061; if you miss out next year, you may never get the chance

to see it again. So snag a spot on Abercrombie & Kent’s 15-day luxury

cruising expedition in the middle of the Southern Ocean in early

December. The eclipse’s path of totality, which spans the rarely

visited South Orkney Islands, is expected to last a full 100 seconds.

And who better to experience it with than an astronomer? The rocket

scientist and former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan, a.k.a. the first

woman to walk in space, will be your host. Antarctica and the Total

Solar Eclipse With Abercrombie & Kent; abercrombiekent.com

A November sunset in Antarctica

San Mateo Ixtatán, Guatemala


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Until Parkinson’sisn’t

This Is Kyoto’s Year

The Japanese government expected 40 million travelers

to flood across its islands for the 2020 Olympics, and its

tourism industry prepared accordingly. The Games’ post-

ponement caused a lot of shiny new hotel rooms and train

routes to go underused, but that investment means there

has never been more reason to visit Japan, whether you

have tickets to the rescheduled Olympics or not. There

have been openings from the ski slopes of Hokkaido to

the beaches of Okinawa, but nowhere has been busier

than the old capital of Kyoto. The Kengo Kuma–designed

Ace Hotel Kyoto debuted this past summer, combining

the Japanese wa concept with a modern minimalism that

fans of the brand’s American outposts will find familiar.

Contrasting with the Ace’s urban cool is the tranquil

design of the year-old Aman Kyoto, surrounded by momiji

maple trees, just outside the city. Perhaps the biggest

opening is the sleek, homegrown Hotel the Mitsui Kyoto,

which has thermal springs for soaks after explorations

of the nearby Nijō Castle. Wherever you check in, be sure

to visit the recently renovated UNESCO World Heritage

Site Kiyomizu-dera Temple and to pick up modern spins

on traditional omiyage (souvenirs) at Beams Japan Kyoto,

before finishing the day with sake and skewers at the

new Kyoto Yakitori Kazu, where the vegetable tempura

is some of the best around. kasey furutani

The historic Higashiyama district

A suite at the Ace Hotel Kyoto

Matcha and sweets at Aman Kyoto


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The All-American Road Trip

Gets an Upgrade

With air and international travel on hold, this time-honored drive vacation

has gotten a promotion. No longer must it be a National Lampoon–style DIY

jaunt; now it can be a highly curated journey through some of the country’s

most thrilling places, organized by people whose job it is to pull off the near

impossible. In June, high-end travel brand Black Tomato, known for envelope-

pushing experiences like overnights on Icelandic volcanoes, launched its first

series of itineraries in partnership with Auberge Resorts Collection. They feature

stays at places like the Mayflower Inn and Spa in the Connecticut countryside,

paired with exclusive activities—think helicopter trips to Block Island and

expert-led antiquing. Next year Black Tomato plans to send travelers to the

South, along the region’s historic food and music trails. Meanwhile, All Roads

North, a specialist in tailored U.S. drives, met this year’s surge in demand by

partnering with Exclusive Resorts for access to a slew of covetable private

homes everywhere from Jackson Hole to Palm Springs. Don’t worry—getting

from point A to point B comes with a map of vetted stops, including pandemic-

era intel on outdoor dining situations, and guides to take you on hiking trails

and vineyard tastings. Founder Sam Highley says the company is excited to

launch exclusive dining experiences next year with chefs whose restaurants are

still closed. Finally, adventure expert Steppes Travel, whose expeditions go to

the world’s most remote corners, is now running self-guided drives through the

Pacific Northwest and the Utah desert with the safari-style Camp Sarika by

Amangiri as a base. Finally, outfitter Abercrombie & Kent, famous for its safari excur-

sions, is getting into the road trip game. You’ll still whiz through family favorites

like the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, but with a chauffeur at the wheel,

you’ll have more time to appreciate what you came to see. megan spurrell


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Some of us ate too much. Most of us drank too much. Many of us sat hunched over makeshift desks for hours as we Zoomed with colleagues or loved ones. We were alone too often or struggled to claim a minute for ourselves. The past eight months have taken a toll, and we could all use a little more self-care (cringey term be damned). Here’s where to find it in the new year. rebecca misner

A Wellness Getaway Has Never Been So Necessary

Eleven Experience

Scarp Ridge Lodge,

Colorado

Next year, at its flagship

property, the brand asso-

ciated with high adven-

ture in off-the-grid loca-

tions will add wellness to

a list of offerings that’s

been traditionally long on

adrenaline-spiking activi-

ties like Sno-Cat skiing

and alpine cycling. Not

surprisingly, the new

programming, dubbed

Eleven Life, has

everything hard-charging

guests might need in

their downtime—CBD-

enhanced massages to

alleviate inflammation

and accelerate muscle

recovery; a sleep treat-

ment that uses snooze-

inducing essential oils

alongside sound vibra-

tion; and custom-blended

I.V.s administered by a

nurse practitioner to

combat altitude sickness,

fatigue, and post-work-

out dehydration.

Bishop’s Lodge,

Auberge Resorts

Collection, Santa Fe

When this reimagined

historic lodge opens next

spring, its Turquesa

Healing Arts Studio will

be the place to land after

fly-fishing, hiking, and

horseback riding across

the retreat’s 317 piñon-

and-juniper-studded

acres. Expect indigenous

Southwestern ingredi-

ents and Native American

traditions to weave their

way into most treat-

ments, like the ritual

burning of sage and

sweetgrass to purify the

mind and body, and to

find turquoise, a stone

revered for its purported

ability to heal old emo-

tional trauma (and the

spa’s namesake), in foot

soaks and energy work.

Six Senses New York

The sustainable hospitali-

ty group with outposts in

tranquil well-being hubs

like Bali and Bhutan is

out to prove that balance

can be found anywhere,

even in a city that lives

for extremes. When

the property opens

early next year, with

soul-soothing views of

the Hudson River and

overlooking the wild

grasses of Manhattan’s

prized High Line, guests

will be able to visit the

spa for a session in

the vibroacoustic medita-

tion dome (a spaceship-

like pod that delivers

customizable sound

therapy), Goldilocks

through the bathhouse’s

various pools, and try

out leading-edge biohack-

ing fitness equipment

that miraculously cuts

down on workout time.

A guest room tub at Scarp Ridge Lodge

Colorado’s Scarp Ridge Lodge


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Home Is CallingGrowing up in the modest

city of Shreveport,

Louisiana, I longed to

explore the wider world

and immerse myself in

different cultures. When

I got older, my work took

me to six continents—

from the salt flats above

the Atacama Desert to the

rainbow-crested cliffs of

the Faroe Islands, and I

lived in places like London

and New York. But no

matter how far I roamed,

I felt secure knowing

I was never more than a

plane ride (or three) from

warm Southern welcomes,

heaping platters of fried

oysters and boiled

crawfish, and hugs from

my mom.

I am now based in Japan,

and being stuck here

during the pandemic has

reminded me that part of

the reason we travel is

to connect our past and

future selves. Travel is

the thread that weaves

together the experiences

we’ve left behind with the

parts of ourselves we have

yet to discover. Over the

years, revisiting people

and places I love has given

meaning and structure to

the meandering narrative

of my life. COVID-19 has

made this type of travel,

which I have always taken

for granted, impossible.

That’s why the first place

I’ll go once I can fly again

is home to Shreveport.

melinde joe

The Monday blues have a different meaning for Lamin Ngobeh, a Wilmington, Delaware–based

teacher who traded his commute for the Caribbean and now works remotely from Barbados. He’s

part of a growing sector of the workforce that, no longer tethered to an office or even a home city,

is seizing the opportunity to live and work outside the United States—an option made possible

by new long-stay visa programs. Ngobeh says he chose the Caribbean island because of its afford-

ability, safety, and reliable internet. But the appeal of swapping his faux-tropical Zoom background

for the real deal—Windex-blue water and rustling palm trees—is hard to overstate. Little wonder

that the government of Barbados received more than a thousand applications within days of

the August launch of its new visa, which allows visitors to live and work there for up to a year.

Other countries, including Bermuda, Georgia, and Estonia, are hoping to entice long-stay visitors

and remote workers as a means of bolstering revenues shrunk by declining tourism during the

pandemic. While regulations differ by destination, prospective residents should expect to pay an

application fee (they range from $94 to $2,000 per person, depending on the country) and

provide proof of health insurance, negative coronavirus results from a test taken no more than

72 hours prior to departure, and income or self-employment. All that is a relatively low lift for

the chance to surf Bermuda’s Horseshoe Bay on your lunch break or check out Tblisi’s wine scene

without taking vacation days. For those who can’t swing extended time out of the country, hotels

across the U.S. are introducing packages that are redefining out-of-office. In Miami, for example,

the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel in South Beach is betting on housebound workers eager to answer

emails from a poolside cabana where, through the Work From Hotel offer, they’ll have access to

high-speed Wi-Fi, office supplies, and unlimited morning coffee. sarah greaves-gabbadon

The Office Is Where You Make It

A quiet corner of Barbados


The Colony Palm Beach

Be the star of your own show when you share

stories of exclusive hotels, lavish spa treatments

and private golf lessons in The Palm Beaches,

The Best Way to Experience Florida®.

There Are Places You Haven’t Been

Where You Already Belong

Ghana’s 2019 tourism campaign, Year of Return, encouraged

Black Americans like me to come “home.” I was envious as friends

and colleagues told me of local people’s embrace and the relief of

existing outside the United States’ racially charged bubble. The

campaign has since evolved into the 10-year Beyond the Return,

and after 2020’s string of wrongful deaths of Black Americans such

as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery at the hands

of police officers and vigilantes, I hope to experience the journey

for myself. I want to feel what it’s like to blend, to belong, and to

know my dark-skinned presence won’t prompt fear or violence as

it has in America for centuries.

Getting to Ghana will be easier starting in 2021 with United

Airlines’ new nonstop flights from D.C. to Accra. On the ground

I’ll have the travel agency R’ajwa Company, owned by a first-

generation Ghanaian American, Lady May Hagan, handle the itiner-

ary. I’m sure I will weep upon arrival to the white, hulking Cape Coast

Castle, which harbors ghastly secrets of the African slave trade,

but I can’t fathom starting my visit without honoring my ancestors

there. The rest of my journey will likely be filled with joy and frater-

nity, whether I’m experiencing R’ajwa Experience’s elaborate Secret

African Garden dinner soirées in East Legon, spotting wildlife on

game drives from the new eco-resort Safari Valley in the forested

Aburi region, gorging on fresh-cooked kelewele (a fried plantain

dish) at the lively Osu Night Market, or enjoying sunset cocktails

on Sky Bar 25’s rooftop overlooking a twinkling Accra, surrounded

by people who look like and welcome me. travis levius

At the popular Makola Market, in central Accra

Architecture in Accra’s Osu district


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Vegas Is Still Vegas

Visiting Las Vegas requires a certain suspension of disbelief (Paris is not located

down the street from Venice, for instance), and you might need to draw on that

same magical acceptance to fully grasp what the city is planning next. It has been

a challenging and intense time for destinations, especially those designed to bring

humans together indoors, but the city has responded in a typically Vegas fashion.

Next summer, Resorts World Las Vegas is on track to open its 3,500-room casino

and resort on 88 acres across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Wynn. On tap for the

property: a speakeasy and a Malaysian-inflected urban food hall, as well as restau-

rants from boldface names like Major Food Group (whose Parm joins its other

Vegas outlets, Sadelle’s and Carbone). Meanwhile, Virgin Hotels is set to welcome

guests this month where the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino formerly stood, making

over two preexisting restaurants (Nobu and MB Steak) and introducing Hakkasan

Group’s Casa Calavera, Nick Mathers’s Kassi Beach Club, and Night + Market,

which Angelenos will recognize for its northern Thai street food. In other news,

Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino’s 455-room Gallery Tower is already open,

and guests can download a custom app that lets them view the augmented reality

features of a new artwork, Transmigrations, by multimedia artist Camila Magrane.

Three blocks away, the just-completed Circa Resort & Casino is the first fully

adults-only casino resort in the city. Guests can swim year-round in a pool amphi-

theater as they watch sports on a massive screen, and gamble in the largest

sports book in the world: a three-story stadium-style room with a 78-million-pixel

high-def screen. In January, the city’s Allegiant Stadium—the new home of the

NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders—hosts the NFL Pro Bowl. Off the Strip, the immersive-

art producer Meow Wolf will reveal the sprawling Omega Mart, an “interactive

superstore,” at the just-opened entertainment complex Area 15 early next year.

Anywhere else, and all this would seem like too much to believe. andrea bennett

The city skyline from outside New York-New York Hotel & Casino


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Just a Short Flight AwayNot being able to sneak away to Cabo or Antigua over a

long weekend for a quick hit of sunshine, or cross into

British Columbia for spring skiing, made many American

travelers realize just how much we took these easy

escapes for granted. Thankfully there are countless new

reasons to visit Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean as

these beloved destinations open up again.


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Canada

Eco-hospitality brand 1 Hotels arrives in March on buzzy King

Street West in downtown Toronto. Two hours east of the city

in Prince Edward County (Ontario’s version of the Hamptons),

Wander begins greeting guests next month at its collection of

West Lake–fronting cabins designed with Nordic flair, while

a few miles northeast The Royal will open in the town of Picton

in a restored 1879 building. In British Columbia, Harbour Air

Seaplanes recently launched a new fly-and-drive program that

makes it easier to reach Tofino, on Vancouver Island’s remote

Pacific coast, in time for storm-watching season (winter fog

frequently disrupts flights). Catch a flight from downtown

Vancouver to Nanaimo Harbour, pick up your rental car, and

follow the Pacific Rim Highway through old-growth forests to

watch 30-foot waves crash on the beach. rebecca misner

The Caribbean

Just as St. Barts had gotten up and running again after

extensive closures due to 2017’s Hurricane Irma, the pandemic

hit. Now, knock on coconut-tree wood, the Caribbean’s toniest

island is fully back: The anticipated Hôtel Barrière Le Carl

Gustaf, with views of Gustavia’s boat-filled harbor, is finally

open, and in spring the long-loved Le Guanahani, set on a

private peninsula facing Marigot Bay and Grand Cul-de-Sac,

will be reborn as a Rosewood hotel. Later next year, in the U.S.

Virgin Islands, on a little cay just off St. John, the sustainable

Lovango Resort & Beach Club (fueled by wind and solar power)

will welcome overnighters and day sailors to its sandy shores.

On the horizon: Virgin Voyages is adding new Caribbean

itineraries, launching in fall 2021, that swap out the usual ports

for places like Roatan, an island off the coast of Honduras. r.m.

Mexico

In Mexico City’s leafy Condesa neighborhood, the seven-room

retreat Octavia Casa has opened its modernist doors. In the

center of town, the design firm La Metropolitana kitted out the

25 oak-furnished suites at Circulo Mexicano—Grupo Habita’s

newest outpost, set in a renovated 19th-century town house.

It’s home to Itacate Del Mar, a seafood eatery from Gabriela

Cámara, chef-owner of the city’s landmark Contramar. The craft

hub of Oaxaca has three historic mansions turned boutique

stays: Hotel Escondido, Hotel Sin Nombre, and Grana B&B. For

beach seekers, One&Only Mandarina in Riviera Nayarit (five

miles north of Sayulita) just unveiled tree houses and clifftop

villas overlooking empty surf breaks. And an hour southeast of

Puerto Escondido in San Agustinillo, a fishing town on the edge

of the jungle, the 11-suite Monte Uzulu is already charming

stylish wanderers with its locally woven baskets, textiles, and

hand-carved macuilí wood furniture. michaela trimble

Schooner

Cove in

Tofino,

British

Columbia


You Can’t Go Another Year Without Visiting Italy

Those who see Italy not just as a destination but as

something more elemental, an espresso-splashed and

Vespa-whirled elixir, already know they’ll be going

back next year—no question. The epicenter of the

European outbreak is projected to lose 100 billion

euros in tourism in 2020, in no small part thanks to

the U.S., its largest non-E.U. market, having been

banned from entry. Yet already high interest for 2021

suggests that next year will be a different story, and

there’s plenty happening. The medieval literary

center of Ravenna will mark the 700th anniversary of

the death of Dante, who wrote The Divine Comedy in

the city in Emilia-Romagna (not in Florence, as is

commonly assumed). New hotels like the Hoxton in

Rome’s sophisticated Salario and Rocco Forte’s Villa

Igiea in Palermo will help ensure there’s a good bed

for everyone, while the opening of Castello di Reschio

inside a 1,000-year-old castle will be the first true

luxury address in the Umbrian countryside.

My plan, however, is to head to less-discovered

pockets of the country: the quiet Sicilian islands of

Marettimo or Ortigia, off Syracuse, for languid fish

lunches and swims in the southern Mediterranean;

the Tuscan village of Colonnata, in the middle of

a marble quarry, where that very style of Italian life

we crave all year hums on regardless of the ebbs

and flows of tourism.

If you just can’t skip Florence, and I certainly

don’t fault you, go in the off-season. There is a sweet

spot in early December—after the warm-weather

tourists leave but before the holiday tourists arrive—

when the city slows down. The Piazza di Santa Croce

becomes an actually pleasant place to sit and watch

passersby, who at that point in the year are nearly

all fiorentini zipping between work and coffee bars.

Stands hawking crinkly paper bags filled with roasted

hazelnuts replace the ones that sell watermelon.

Even the Uffizi, which will now have its capacity cut

in half from 900 guests a day, feels more welcoming,

a refuge from the chilly December air outside. That’s

the season I was there a year ago, and it’s the version

of the city I dream of returning to. erin florio

At the Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo in Sicily


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Milestone Trips, Take Two

The Blowout 50th

(or 51st)

Kokomo Private Island,

Fiji’s premier spot for

getting away from it all,

is now taking seclusion a

step further with buyouts

for groups of up to 30.

Insane scuba diving

(the Great Astrolabe

Reef encloses the island),

deep-sea fishing for

marlin and wahoo, and

140 sandy acres to spread

out across provide the

makings of a legendary

bash with a few dozen

of your best friends.

rebecca misner

The Long-Delayed

Honeymoon

This month, Zannier Hotels

Bãi San Hô, the latest from

the Belgian hospitality

brand, opens on Vietnam’s

lush south-central coast,

giving newlyweds a fresh

stretch of white sand to

retreat to. The views from

the freestanding private

villas of the South China

Sea and the endless

green of surrounding rice

paddies (along with the

resort’s grandma-level

traditional cooking)

make it equally good for

anniversaries. r.m.

The Rescheduled

Family Reunion

With help from the

Blackberry Farm

hospitality team, High

Hampton, a nearly

century-old lakefront

retreat in the heart of

North Carolina’s Blue

Ridge Mountains, gets

a makeover. New restau-

rants and an updated look

amp up its throwback,

summer camp appeal,

while golf, canoeing,

pickleball, poplar-lined

hiking trails, and spa-

cious cottages make it

ideal for all ages. r.m.

Thirtieth birthday. Honeymoon. First wedding

anniversary. Babymoon. My husband, John, and I were

lucky enough to mark all of those milestones with

visits to Paris, our “place” for more than a decade.

When we had our son, Max, in the summer of 2019,

we immediately started plotting a 10th-wedding-

anniversary return for the three of us. We figured

nothing could be cuter than a baby taking in the

Louvre from a stroller, joyfully waving at the Mona

Lisa. Along with all of our other best-laid plans, our

April 2020 trip to Paris was canceled. We certainly

weren’t alone; over the past eight months, many

of us have had to postpone trips we’d planned to

celebrate major life moments. But while a flight to

Paris last spring before Max could walk would have

certainly been easier, I’m excited that when we do

finally go next fall (fingers crossed), he’ll be more able

to participate in all that makes Paris wonderful. On the

2021 version of the trip, he’ll be able to run through

the manicured trees of the Tuileries. He’ll understand

the joy of eating a still-warm croissant at Poilâne.

He’ll be dazzled by the twinkling lights on the Eiffel

Tower at night. Chasing after a two-year-old might

be tiring, but the experience will be richer, deeper,

and I think more satisfying for all of us. And just

maybe he’ll remember his first landmark vacation—

I know I will. melissa liebling-goldberg

It’s Not Too Late to Celebrate

In the heart

of Paris’s

Latin Quarter


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If you’re looking for an

eff ortless domestic getaway

with international appeal,

this southernmost U.S. island

chain holds the keys.

destination. Visitors can become scuba certified

in only three days, but if you prefer your

adventures on land, Key Largo is also flanked by

Everglades National Park, a natural wonderland

for hikers, birders, kayakers, and eco-tourists of

all stripes.

Islamorada translated from Spanish as “purple

isle,” has yet another name among sport fishing

enthusiasts: heaven. Its unique location,

between the “backcountry” of the Florida Bay

and the “front side” of the Atlantic Ocean,

provides an unrivaled diversity of fishing

opportunities.

Midway through The Keys and sandwiched

between the waters of the Atlantic and the Gulf

of Mexico, Marathon is a boater’s paradise and

a restless family’s dream. Whether you’re

cruising in on your own vessel or renting one

while you’re here, this is one of The Keys’ most

boat-friendly destinations, with a jewel of a

marina and a rich seafaring history.

Big Pine Key & Florida’s Lower Keys are a

string of small islands best known for their

abundance of natural wonders, including two

national wildlife refuges and a national marine

sanctuary. The “Natural Keys” will capture your

heart and take your breath away with

adventures in the wild, both on land and on (or

under) the water. Don’t forget to pay a visit to

Stock Island, an up-and-coming resort

destination with a colorful history as the hub of

the Keys’ shrimping industry and a vibrant

community of young artists.

Celebrated for its flamboyant personality and

anything-goes spirit, Key West also has a softer

side perfect for history buff s, nature lovers, and

sporty types alike.Now more than ever, it feels

great to support small local businesses, and

you’ll find no shortage of eclectic mom-and-

pop stores and enterprises throughout The

Florida Keys & Key West

Think of The Florida Keys as the world-class

destination that happens to be right in your own

backyard—with all of the superb activities,

accommodations, and health precautions you

would expect to find there.

TO LEARN MORE AND PL AN YOUR ESCAPE , VIS IT FL A- KEYS.COM


Who couldn’t use a little escape these days?

Few destinations suit the current moment

better than The Florida Keys. Easy to get to by

road or air, this uniquely American island

paradise off ers 365 days of practically perfect

subtropical weather, a vast array of outdoor

activities on land and water, and a wealth of

authentic experiences across five distinct

districts—no passport required.

The northernmost island in The Keys, Key Largo

has the only living coral barrier reef in the

continental U.S. just off its eastern shores,

making it the ideal diving and water exploration

Timeless… and

Timelier Than Ever:

The Florida Keys &

Key West

There’s no denying that this year has gone a little sideways. But with calm, clear water,

warm sunshine, our legendary laid-back attitude and a million unique ways to keep

your distance, nothing comes close to a getaway in The Florida Keys & Key West.

For the latest protocols on health & safety in

The Florida Keys, please visit our website.

fla-keys.com 1.800.fla.keys

Nothing comes close to this.

The Reach Key West, Curio Collection by HiltonImmerse yourself in an

authentic Key West experience. Located on the island’s only

private natural-sand beach. Steps from Duval Street.

305-296-5000reachresort.com

Casa Marina Key West,A Waldorf Astoria Resort

Relax in island-style luxury. This historic resort, home to Key West’s largest private beach, is proudly celebrating 100 years.

305-296-3535casamarinaresort.com

Barbary Beach House Key WestBrand new resort located steps from Smathers Beach. Discover alluring suites inspired by the

island’s maritime history.305-292-9800 or 855-235-3914barbarybeachhousekeywest.com

Amara Cay ResortDiscover your secret oasis at

Amara Cay, nestled in Islamorada. Spellbinding views, private beaches,

and a truly blissful retreat await.888-317-0889

amaracayresort.com

Orchid Key InnLocation, location, location.

Four Star service & amenities. Off-street parking, complimentary breakfast & happy hour. Luxurious

guest rooms & Orchid Bar.305-296-9915 or 800-845-8384

orchidkeyinn.com

The Great Outdoors Is Your New BackyardSummer 2020 was filled with hastily planned camping excursions and road trips through vast, empty spaces where other travelers (if any) were well out of sight. To meet demand, luxe tented camps and nature trails are opening in parts of the American landscape you might never have imagined exploring so intimately. You no longer have to be an outdoorsy type to go outside.


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why we travel →where to go

AutoCamp’s new Cape Cod site

Under the Mighty Oaks

For anyone who thinks camping equals sleeping bags on hard

ground, these comfortable alternatives show there’s another

way. Airstream park AutoCamp opened its first East Coast

spot on Cape Cod this fall, with renovated trailers souped up

with queen-size bedrooms, modern kitchens, and private

patios. In Maine, glamping leader Under Canvas will open for

its summer season in May with its safari-style tents that sleep

seven on 100 acres along the coast. Acadia National Park, the

only national park in the Northeast, is just 30 minutes away.

And out west, Yonder Escalante, a new outfit set alongside

the slot canyons of Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National

Monument, brought Airstreams filled with midcentury furniture

and small, family-friendly cabins to the grounds of a former

drive-in movie theater (soon you’ll be able to watch old films

from vintage cars). Gone are the days of wrestling with tents

or searching for a bathroom in the dark. meredith carey

A kitted-out Airstream


More Pedaling, Less People

It’s easy to stay six feet apart on a bike. But if you’re wary of

riding with strangers and sharing meals and shuttle transfers

during an organized bike tour, a self-guided trip might be just

the thing. More affordable than going the purely private-guide

route, this European style of cycling is finally catching on in

the U.S. Trek Travel recently launched self-guided itineraries

in the Oregon Cascades and Asheville, North Carolina, and

self-guided specialist Pure Adventures introduced a new trip

in the winter-cycling mecca of Tucson. The operators still do

the heavy lifting: They’ll curate routes, book hotels and

transfer luggage, make restaurant reservations, and outfit

you with top-quality bikes (or e-bikes). Excursions can be

customized, adding on more mileage or experiences, like spa

treatments or cooking classes. There’s no guide or support

car, so an element of self-reliance is required, like being able

to read a GPS map or fix a flat. But assistance is always just

a text or phone call away. jen murphy

Empire State of Mind

New York State is one of the great

beauties of the Lower 48, and the

new Empire State Trail gives city

slickers and out-of-staters alike

a prime chance to see its varied

landscapes. When construction

wraps this month, the hop-on,

hop-off 750-mile track stretching

from New York City to the Canadian

border and from Buffalo to Albany

will be the longest of its kind in

the country. Start in, say, bucolic

Columbia County in the summer

to hike the area’s green hillsides

dotted with cider houses and

wineries (Taste New York is one of

the trail’s many tourism partners).

On a winter weekend, hit the remote

Adirondacks to cross-country ski

or snowshoe through forests of

towering evergreens where falcons

and eagles make their homes. If

you want to turn it into a larger

itinerary, it’s nice to know there are

plenty of great Airbnbs and hotels

along the way. ashlea halpern

New York’s

Adirondack

Mountains

Roadside

attractions

in southern

Arizona


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Another Way Up the Mountain

The rewards of backcountry

skiing—empty slopes, untracked

powder, and not having to wait in

socially distanced lift lines—are

pretty appealing just now. But

earning your turns by climbing

uphill on your own skis does come

with real risks, like avalanches and

getting lost. Bluebird Backcountry,

America’s first inbounds-

backcountry ski area, offers a safe

place to learn the sport. Located

just outside of Steamboat Springs,

Colorado, it combines the terrain

and solitude of the out-of-bounds

experience (Bluebird vows to limit

capacity to 200 skiers per day every

season) with resort conveniences

like ski rentals, bathrooms, on-site

food, and guides. And unlike the true

wilderness, its 1,200 acres have

ski patrol and avalanche mitigation.

Hotels are also helping to ease entry

to the sport. Gravity Haus, a new

hotel and membership club with

locations in Breckenridge and Vail, is

offering off-piste ski trips, avalanche

education, and gear rentals through

its in-house equipment arm, Haus

Quiver. And if slogging uphill seems

like too much work, the Lodge at

Blue Sky, Auberge Resorts Collection,

in Utah, has introduced heli-skiing

for intermediate levels and above

with ski butlers, warming yurts, and

guides for those willing to drop big

bucks to glide off the grid. j.m.

Making tracks at Bluebird Backcountry


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Cruise enthusiast Keith Steiner, with 150 voyages under his belt, on why he keeps getting back on board:

“My first was in 1968, with Homeric Lines, an Italian company that no longer exists9 My family

and I sailed for 13 nights through the Caribbean from New York City, seeing parades in Martinique

and synagogues in Curaçao9 The trip created such great memories; I’ve been cruising ever since9

My love for it has evolved over time9 When my kids were little, we could drop them off at the

kids club, and then my wife and I could spend a day in port, meaning the family could be apart and

together9 At the start of the ’90s, I worked for a tech firm that was an early adopter of email,

and these ships, not having internet, were the only place I could properly disconnect9 The way

they schedule passengers, from excursions to dinnertime, means you often don’t have to think9

And sometimes you just don’t want to have to think—or unpack more than once9 They have let

me explore so many places in a short amount of time, in a way land travel just can’t9 Thanks to

cruise-industry connections, my wife and I have toured off-limits castles belonging to Queen

Elizabeth II outside of Belfast and spent the night exploring historic caves before dancing with

locals near Jerusalem9 We were the last group allowed in before those caves closed to the public9

I have seen more than 160 countries and 400 towns and ports because of cruising, spending up

to five months a year at sea9 The 2020 season was a bust, but we are making up for it in 20219 We

have four sailings booked already, through Europe in summer and then a holiday cruise through

the Caribbean, where this love affair began more than 50 years ago9” as told to erin florio

Nothing Beats

a Cruise


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photographers, artists, editors, models (and a few celebrities) to reveal what their lives looked like

under lockdown. The result was an extraordinary series of self-created images, interviews,

and essays. Brought together in one volume, Postcards From Hope marks a moment

of profound change, and serves as a stunning document of creativity thriving through crisis.

BY THE EDITORS OF VOGUE FOREWORD BY ANNA WINTOUR

rizzoliusa.com

Available Wherever Books Are Sold

For months we have explored the once-unexamined universe of

our neighborhoods, observing the neatly planted window boxes and

quiet pocket parks, the Japanese maple that unclenched in spring

and one fall day exploded in gold. But while we have learned to find

wonder in our own backyards, we travelers still dream of snowy

Andean peaks and aperitivi on the Ligurian coast, restlessly making

lists of where we’ll go next, our passports growing stiff from disuse

in their freshly decluttered drawers.

We miss the world. But does it miss us? No and yes. Nature is

happy to do its thing, and reduced human activity has had an unde-

niably positive impact on the air and water—although, with our

Casa Nozinho

at Uxua,

in Bahia

backs turned, wildlife poaching has increased. The impact of this

global grounding on us humans is more cut-and-dried. The U.N.

World Tourism Organization projects that tourist travel will

decline between 58 percent and 78 percent globally in 2020, putting

100 million to 200 million jobs at risk. Our physical spheres have

shrunk, but our lives have never been more broadly intertwined

with those of the safari guide in Kenya or the taxi driver in

Mumbai—whose numbers still fill our WhatsApp contacts, the

dormant circuitry of trips once taken.

With these connections and losses, we have felt in our bones the

power of travel—to reveal our shared humanity, but also as a criti-

cal economic engine capable of preserving landscapes, cultures,

wildlife, and livelihoods. With that power comes responsibility, so

now we find ourselves wondering not just where to travel when we

step back out there, but how. “It is a unique time and opportunity

for all of us to think about what we do. All the guidebooks are

expired and reset,” says Tyler Dillon, a planner at Trufflepig who

Travel Matters More Than Ever


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Uxua, Trancoso, Brazil

This beloved barefoot-cool pioneer stands out

not only for its sustainable approach—reclaimed

building materials, zero-waste policy, trash

bags from recycled paper—but for investing in

local communities. Founders Wilbert Das and

Bob Shevlin launched a literacy program for the

entire staff from the get-go, and thanks to the life

coaching and financial planning the resort offers,

35 employees have bought land in the past six

years. Das’s new U-2020 initiative seeks to enroll

20 staffers (out of 85) in a university program by

the end of this year. Doubles from $290; uxua.com

KnoWhere Journeys, Myanmar

Designed in collaboration with conservationists

Jon Miceler and Aung Myo Chit, these trips in

the untouristed rural north are bookable through

Trufflepig. They’re intended to support the

country’s timber elephants; their mahouts

(keepers and trainers), who were put out of work

when hardwood logging was banned in 2016;

and the area’s remaining hardwood forests.

Expect face time with the retired pachyderms

in the sustainably built camps before sailing on

a teak boat to Mandalay to observe the endangered

Irrawaddy dolphin. Then it’s on to collaring

wild elephants to prevent poaching. From $800

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Kisawa Sanctuary, Mozambique

Opening in early 2021 on 741 acres of unspoiled

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specializes in Myanmar and Uzbekistan. “I feel strongly about the effect

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Mealtime at KnoWhere Myanmar’s camp


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Marataba Conservation Camps, South Africa

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with “impact drives” that focus on wildlife while

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Turner House, New Mexico

The 10-room stone-walled guest house quietly

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Vermejo is home to the Castle Rock bison, one

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from $1,200; tedturnerreserves.com

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Even against a backdrop of seemingly intractable challenges, frenetic Lagos has emerged as a powerhouse of fashion, art, and culture By Noo Saro-Wiwa Photographs by Sebastian Barros

urbanbeat

64

From left: One of the many murals in central Lagos; boys take a break from a game of Sunday pickup soccer

witching from the slumber of

middle-class England to the

sensory explosion that is

Lagos was a transition I had

to make during childhood

summers. Life in the south-

western county of Surrey was

punctuated by returns to

Nigeria, where I was born,

enforced by parents who were hell-bent on neutraliz-

ing my Britishness. Reaching our hometown of Port

Harcourt involved stopping over at relatives’ houses

in Lagos, and even at that young age, the big-city

charge of the then capital—its noise and swagger—

was magnetic, repellent, and always unforgettable.

The last time I took an extended trip here was in

2007, at the beginning of a four-and-a-half-month

odyssey around the country for my book, Looking for

Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria. There was an

organized chaos to it. I was intimidated by the density

Above: Murals by local graffiti artist Osa Seven

Right: A surfer at the popular Tarkwa Bay Beach in southern Lagos

and impatience of the crowds and the kamikaze

okada—motorcycle taxis—that flew at me from every

direction. It was a steam pot of vehicle fumes and

go-slow traffic jams that vendors wove through,

selling anything from squash rackets to books with

titles like How to Get Fat, while self-styled preachers

on the distinctive yellow danfo (minibuses) laid seven

shades of Jesus on their fellow passengers; an urban

jungle with the Darwinian survival ethos of Texas and

the infrastructure of Kinshasa, where islands of stag-

gering wealth existed without shame in a lake of

poverty. If Lagos were a person, she would wear a

Gucci jacket and a cheap hair weave, cruising in her

Porsche over rain-flooded potholes. In a nation where

the middle class has atrophied and the rich got rich

very quickly, the poor were not irrational for believing

that prosperity was within their reach. Nearly every-

one had a side hustle, with even university lecturers

supplementing their income by hawking Chinese

cure-all teas on public transport. Rawness abounded.

S66

Years later, I was preparing to fly back to the

metropolis and found myself walking past former

Vogue International editor Suzy Menkes in the

airport. “Is this the departure gate for Lagos?” she

asked me. Twenty years ago I might have assumed

she meant Lagos in Portugal. Why would the grande

dame of fashion journalism be visiting African

Lagos? It turned out Menkes was heading to Lagos

Fashion Week, her presence proof that society is

opening its eyes to Nigeria’s largest city as a hub of

design, art, industry, and finance. But while its

appeal has often been overshadowed by infamy, it

was shining at the center of its own universe long

before the West began to take notice.

Recently I returned to a Lagos that I found better

governed and more sedate in certain areas, a place

with a vision of itself and where it wants to be. In

prosperous neighborhoods such as Victoria Island

and Ikoyi, the okada are gone, per a government ban,

while the notorious yellow taxis now compete with

Uber. One intensely agreeable driver I encountered,

Marcel, held a white-collar job at Guinness until he

was laid off when the currency plummeted. Today he

uses his car to pay his bills: The side hustle has been

digitized, and the passenger-driver screaming

matches of old are diplomatically muted now that

both parties have app ratings to protect.

Marcel, like many Lagosians, isn’t originally from

here. Nigerians from all corners are sucked into the

force field of a city that would, if it were an indepen-

dent country, have the fifth-largest economy in Africa.

Nearly a quarter of its residents are Igbo from the

east—ironic considering it was the Igbos’ attempt at

secession that sparked the Biafran civil war of the late

1960s. My parents fled from that very conflict and

settled in Lagos for a few years. Since then the city has

grown to accommodate people from all of Nigeria’s

200-plus ethnic groups, who live in a phenomenal

harmony that is underappreciated by the world.

“Lagos is Nigeria,” one resident told me.

Left: Celebrating their team’s goal at the sprawling Balogun Market

Above: A DVD shop inside Balogun Market shows off Nigeria’s strong film industry

69

Aesthetically, it wins no prizes. There are flashes

of beauty in the university campus and the Third

Mainland Bridge, which snakes along the blue lagoon

and sparkles in the twilight, but the panorama of ’70s

and ’80s oil-boom buildings is as gray as the tropical

thunderclouds, and the pavement is cleaved by open

ditches. This is no place for the placid flaneur. Lagos’s

charm is concealed in its interiors, such as Alára, a

gorgeous boutique by David Adjaye, a principal archi-

tect behind Washington, D.C.’s National Museum

of African American History & Culture. It may be set

opposite a decrepit property on Victoria Island, but

stepping inside, I was dazzled by the imposing central

staircase backed by huge windows with light pouring

on leather goods and YSL clothes. “The city’s an expe-

riential space,” said Hunderson, Alára’s manager,

a shaven-headed Haitian New Yorker who has

lived in Lagos since 2018. “It pulled me in. I didn’t

have a choice. When I first visited 10 years ago, I

thought, Oh, my God, I can’t go back! The energy, the

starkness. It’s a blank canvas with about 21 million

inhabitants. You can’t be lazy. That’s what drives me.

Look at the fashion industry, the film industry—and

everyone has a law degree. What is it with these

people and law degrees?”

October and November are the months to be in

Lagos. The rains have ceased, and the hotels teem

with the local style set; Aké Arts and Book Festival

draws the best writers from the continent and its

diaspora, including Booker Prize winner Bernardine

Evaristo and sci-fi talent Nnedi Okorafor. By night

the lagoon glows with open-air waterside bars and

restaurants. And music is everywhere, the beats and

electronic melismatic vocals of acts such as Burna

Boy, who performed at Coachella last year, thumping

from speakers. It can exhilarate or irritate, depending

on your tastes. I grabbed some respite at the Jazzhole

bookstore, a longtime fixture on Awolowo Road in

Ikoyi, an affluent central district where British

expats built homes in the 20th century. Here I sipped

coffee and scanned the shelves while “Rhythm of

Love,” by ’70s Nigerian funk band Blo, played in the

background. Owner Kunle Tejuosho told me his

mother, Gbemi, used to run the family’s other book-

shop, Glendora, on the same street. My father would

hang out there back in the day, perusing paperbacks

and gisting (chatting) with Mrs. Tejuosho. In a place

where silence is a rarity, Jazzhole is still a good spot

to meet new people and hold deep conversations.

“This is not a city of the mind,” one customer

lamented. It’s true that designated intellectual

spaces and events are thin on the ground, but sit in

cafés and food joints and you’ll overhear movers and

shakers discussing the paucity of accurate cancer

diagnostic equipment or how low-cost housing sub-

sidies end up benefiting the rich.

Here in the southwest, education levels are typical-

ly higher than in the rest of the country. One can see it

in the homegrown tech companies of the Yaba neigh-

borhood, or Andela, a firm that aims to fix the global

shortage of software developers. It makes the city’s

license plate motto, Centre of Excellence, look a lot

less sarcastic these days. Lagos is Nigerian ambition

made manifest. Yet its poverty is impossible to side-

step. To be an educated, cosmopolitan Lagosian is to

be the world’s consummate urbanite, because it is to

experience the full spectrum of the human condition.

The city keeps the empathetic ones grounded.

“We have so much raw material,” said Tayo

Ogunbiyi as we ate obokun, or saltwater catfish, at

Switch 1922 Lounge in the Lekki district. She is the

artistic director of Art X Lagos, West Africa’s first

international art fair. Philadelphia-raised and

Princeton-educated, Ogunbiyi now lives here and

helps showcase exciting contemporary works from

the continent and its diaspora. She says she needs the

friction of the “real” Lagos to fuel her own creative

works and remind her of what matters.

I agree. Victoria Island and Ikoyi may be packed

with creature comforts—like devouring shrimp by

Local musician Francis Goldman at the Bogobiri

House hotel in the Ikoyi district

To be a cosmopolitan Lagosian is to know the full spectrum of the human condition

70

the pool at Moist Beach Club—but after kicking

around among the suburban malls and nouveau riche

mansions hoisted by neoclassical columns, I was

craving the truly urban, no matter how gritty.

Onikan is a palate cleanser in that respect. Once

the main downtown area, this district on Lagos Island

has faded in looks and status yet still possesses the

organic soul of the city. I found myself liking the worn

apartment blocks, with their exposed laundry lines

and echoey acoustics of the side-by-side architecture.

There’s nearby Freedom Park, formerly Her Majesty’s

Broad Street Prison, with its pitted, late-Victorian

walls within which public debates and concerts are

held. On Bamgbose Street, filled with colorful multi-

story houses, market stalls sell fruit and live chickens.

Toward one end stands the Doherty Villa, a remaining

edifice built by individuals formerly enslaved in Brazil

who settled here in the 19th century.

Over at the dimly lit, old-school Ghana High

Restaurant, office workers line up for typical Nigerian

plates such as garri, a pounded cassava paste that is

dipped into spicy soups made from ground nuts,

leafy vegetables, and okra. Hunks of grilled chicken

and beef with jollof rice, a paella-style dish made

from tomato stew, chiles, and peppers, are served by

a broad and imperious madam who doesn’t bother

with smiley customer service—her food is better

than sex, and she knows it. Outside Tafawa Balewa

Square, the cast-iron gates are topped by statues of

eagles and giant white horses rearing toward the sky.

There’s a whiff of Mussolini in the design, but it is

canceled out by the vibrant umbrellas of the vendors

below—vernacular street scenes that blend with the

grandeur to unintentionally kitsch effect.

In Onikan I could see an opportunity for bottom-

up regeneration. There are hints of a brighter future

in spots such as the Rele Gallery on Military Street,

owned by Adenrele Sonariwo, which displays modern

pieces by Nigerian artists like Victor Ehikhamenor.

Down the road, in a park across from the Nigerian

National Museum, architect Seun Oduwole is

working on the J.K. Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture

and History. The exhibition and event space will tell

the story of the Indigenous West African people. And

at a rooftop apartment on Moloney Street, the

hFactor creative community repurposes underused

sites into innovative hubs and hosts parties,

stone-carving workshops, film screenings, and

monthly curbside pop-ups selling vintage clothing.

Meanwhile, the Streetlights Collective puts on jam

sessions to discover new musical talent.

But will regeneration happen in the full sense?

Lagos has a habit of shaping new corners for the rich

rather than improving existing areas for ordinary folk.

Eko Atlantic City, an ambitious high-end develop-

ment, is being built on land reclaimed from the ocean,

while upscale Lekki lies on a peninsula, its new

constructions gradually stretching—or one could say

running—away from the metropolis. But global

warming makes it prone to flooding. In 2017, a croco-

dile washed up on the pavement, a reminder that here

even the well-off are never far from the edge of life.

Ironically, those best prepared for climate change

are the residents of Makoko, a shanty village of stilt

houses and boats that is known as the Venice of

Africa. Its problems—overcrowding, floods, an

ever-widening wealth gap—are a microcosm of the

planet’s problems. And in that sense Lagos may be

more forward-facing than we realize. The city is the

past and the future, with the potential to move in

either direction.

Above: A truck on Falomo Bridge, Victoria Island

Right: A cabbie takes a nighttime drive through Ikeja, north of downtown Lagos

72

How to Explore Lagos

WHERE TO STAY The Wheatbaker The curious name was inspired

by a Jamaican baker whose house once stood

on the site; understated interiors include

collections of paintings and photographs.

Doubles from $289; thewheatbakerlagos.com

Bogobiri House Nearly everything in this

16-bedroom hotel—which also hosts live jazz

and Afrobeat sessions—is a work of art.

Doubles from $100; bogobiri.com

Radisson Blu Hotel Part of the global hotel

chain but with a character all its own, it draws

an arty international crowd to the Ikeja district.

The outdoor pool has standout views.

Doubles from $150; radissonhotels.com

SHOPPING Alára This multilevel concept store selling

clothing and furniture houses the Nok restaurant,

which serves palm-nut prawns with steamed

plantains. alaralagos.com

Jazzhole A shop for old-school music and

eclectic fiction and nonfiction titles. The owner

often tells stories about life in Lagos.

FOOD AND DRINK Ghana High Restaurant An atmospheric and

down-to-earth spot popular with locals.

Ìtàn Test Kitchen Chef Michael Adé Elégbèdé ele-

vates Nigerian cooking with dishes such as goat

shank in ayamase sauce. michaelelegbede.com

Moist Beach Club A favorite hangout for its pool

bar, bold wall murals, and people-watching.

Order the fisherman’s platter. moistbeach.com

CULTURE HIT Art X Lagos The annual “Frieze of West Africa”

takes place in November, with a program of local

and international speakers. artxlagos.com

Aké Arts & Book Festival The continent’s top

writers attend this yearly gathering of the

African literary scene for readings and talks.

akefestival.org N.S.W.

73

en plein airBy Steve King Photographs by Ana Lui

The village of Baume-les-Messieurs in Franche-Comté, surrounded by limestone cliffs

Replete with some of France’s best wine and cheese, Jura might be the most important culinary region that isn’t a household name

aryline and I paused for a

late lunch in the famously

pretty village of Baume-les-

Messieurs. The restaurant

was called Le Grand Jardin,

though I saw no evidence of

an adjoining garden of any

size. With the sun shining warmly and, we supposed,

based on the absence of street life, little chance of

being accosted by panhandlers, flower-sellers, itiner-

ant violinists, or other passersby, we chose a table

outside near the front door, on the main drag.

We ordered poulet de Bresse, vin jaune, and

gruyère de Comté, as you do when you are in

Franche-Comté. These three foodstuffs are the

source of fierce pride among the locals. All have that

neurotically official-sounding appellation d’origine

protégée designation, in which the French take such

great pride. The poulet de Bresse is the only chicken

to be so honored. Ours arrived with little metal rings

around their scrawny ankles. I asked Maryline, my

good-humored companion and guide, if she thought

this particular pair had been convicted criminals,

shackled and put to work pecking rocks on a chicken

chain gang. “Or maybe they were married,” she said.

We never got to the bottom of it. Our speculations

were interrupted when, seemingly out of nowhere, a

car roared past at reckless speed, close enough to

deposit a film of dust on our glasses of vin jaune. In

the front seats were two elderly passengers, one

male, one female, both jolly and pink-faced, and,

jammed in between them, a shaggy dog as well fed

and complacent as its owners. In the back, bags and

bags of groceries, piled to the roof. I was reminded of

the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera, which

ends with the Marx Brothers and a dozen or more

extras crammed into a ship’s cabin and somebody

wisecracking, “Is it getting crowded in here?”

The car disappeared from view, and its racket sub-

sided. Luxe, calme, et volupté were restored. There

might well have been birdsong.

After lunch we crossed the street and inspected

the ninth-century abbey, desolate and grand, its

m

Clockwise from top left: A small house in the Château-Chalon wine region of Franche-Comté; an empty dish at the restaurant Le Grand Jardin; a vintage car in a field near Besançon; cabbage at a local market; an architectural detail in Besançon; a decorative shrub in Besançon

77

Old houses built on stilts in the village of Ornans

78

austere cloister brightened by potted geraniums,

like an Ivy League campus. A few minutes later

we sat down on a stranger’s doorstep, in the sun.

I squinted at the wall of sheer chalk cliffs that loom

over the village. From our vantage point they looked

forbiddingly dark and gloomy and cold, as if they

were subject to another weather system altogether.

The stone of the stranger’s doorstep was warming

my backside agreeably, and I thought how happy

I was to be down here, looking up, rather than up

there, looking down.

Once more, however, this intensely satisfactory

state of affairs was disturbed by the whine of an

approaching car engine. The same clapped-out car

that had rattled our cutlery earlier rounded the bend,

recognizable by the mountain of shopping bags in the

back. “Them again. Isn’t that funny?” I said as the car

drove by. “Not very,” said Maryline. “Such things

happen in Franche-Comté. A lot.”

If you run your finger across a map of France, you’ll

find Franche-Comté about halfway down the right-

hand side. Franche-Comté and Burgundy, the region

immediately to its west, have long been closely,

sometimes bafflingly, intertwined, politically and

economically, even when, as was the case for centu-

ries, they were independent statelets. In 2016 they

were formally bundled together as a single greater

region, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Yet in at least

one respect they remain quite distinct. This is a

matter of temperament as much as topography.

A healthy rivalry between Franche-Comté and Bur-

gundy has led the rest of France to perhaps unfairly

assume the latter as more grand and more polished.

The sight of thousands of wheels of cheese, stacked to the ceiling, was staggering. The Fort Knox of Comté

79

Franche-Comté might not be the most overlooked

bit of France—I would hazard a guess and say the

area around Limoges may have that privilege—

but it is one of them, and possibly the most unjustly

overlooked of all, given its abundance of natural and

architectural beauty, cultural riches, and historic

significance. And, of course, its cheese. There really

is no coming to grips with Franche-Comté without

coming to grips with Comté. The region produces

other excellent cheeses—Morbier, Mont d’Or,

Bleu de Gex—but Comté is king. Among the first

things I did was visit Fromageries Vagne, one of

many highly regarded cheesemakers in and around

the town of Poligny. I might have gotten off to a

better, or anyway, more picturesque, start else-

where. The building itself was a reassuringly sterile

light-industrial affair, as plain and functional as a

dentist’s waiting room. Nevertheless, the sight of

thousands of wheels of cheese, stacked from floor

to ceiling on endless shelves, receding far into the

distance, was staggering. Unpasteurized bullion.

The Fort Knox of Comté.

In the days that followed, as Maryline and I made

our way around the region—mostly but not exclu-

sively within the département of Jura, near the Swiss

border—food and drink were as much a part of the

backdrop as rolling farmland and distant mountains.

At one point I said something flippant about feeling

a bit overstuffed on Michelin-starred grub. Maryline

gave me a withering look. “Nous ne sommes pas en

vacances,” she said sternly. We’re not on vacation.

The most surprising culinary aspect of the trip,

however, did not involve any kind of eating or drink-

ing. It was the twin monuments of the Grande

Saline at Salins-les-Bains and the Saline Royale at

Arc-et-Senans, two beautifully preserved former

saltworks now run as museums. Both are architec-

tural marvels in completely contrasting styles. One

resembles something out of the Wild West; the

other is a grandiose feat of neoclassical utopian-

industrial architecture. Together they are a power-

ful and oddly moving reminder of how quickly and

dramatically technological development can alter

human life. With the arrival of the icebox, salt, once

a commodity more valuable than gold, was reduced,

Clockwise from top left: Mushrooms at the local market in Bletterans; a postbox; detail in a traditional Besançon restaurant; soft cheeses with local herbs at the Bletterans market; Besançon in bloom; a city scene in Besançon

80

practically overnight, to a mere condiment. Merci

beaucoup, Baron Kelvin.

Further architectural wonders awaited in

Besançon, whose celebrated citadel has been of

strategic importance since Roman times. Maryline

was keen to impress on me the fact that the city is

also notable for ingenuity on a much smaller scale.

She introduced me to Philippe Lebru, a clockmaker

and impresario of the horological traditions of the

region. We chatted in his elegant atelier-boutique,

Utinam, among colorful clocks of his own design

and watches by contemporary local designers.

“Many of us,” he said, “think of the mechanical-

watch industry as quintessentially Swiss. Not so.

We’ve been doing nanotechnology on this side of

the Jura mountains for centuries.”

As well as making it an ideal spot for a fortress, the

geography of Besançon—a steep hill rising from a flat

plain, opening up extensive views in all directions,

tightly circumscribed by a noose-like loop in the

Doubs River—has had other practical consequences.

It accounts for the peculiar density of the old town,

which, though small, has a sense of compression and

bustle that you normally associate with larger cities.

Its street-side doorways open into narrow private

courtyards of great beauty, typically featuring stair-

cases designed in a style that is unique to Besançon—

external in order to create space on the inside. I was

constantly zigzagging across streets from one

doorway to another, trespassing wildly to see these

courtyards, and found no two to be exactly alike. It

seemed to me entirely fitting that the Lumière broth-

ers, pioneers of the motion-picture industry, should

have lived in this eminently cinematic city.

Perhaps the only other place in Franche-Comté I

saw that equaled Besançon for sheer charm was

Château-Chalon. There are those who say it is the

most beautiful town in France. I have little reason to

doubt their judgment. Though it’s not the only place

in the Jura to produce vin jaune, the Château-Chalon

wine is considered the best. The town, an immacu-

late cluster of well-preserved buildings, overlooks

the terraced vineyards where the Savagnin grapes of

which the wine is made are grown.

I had supper a few doors down from my hotel at a

restaurant that felt more like a room in a house put

to use as a restaurant by the friendly owners, perhaps

as a way to engage more passersby and locals in con-

versation. The space was small, with no more than

half a dozen tables. Slightly shiny tablecloths in

some indestructible but by no means precious fabric.

Net curtains. It was, in its way, perfect. So were the

crémant du Jura, the poulet de Bresse, and the tarte

aux pommes. There may have been a Macvin du Jura

and some Bleu de Gex involved as well. Maryline was

having dinner with her mother that night so was not

present to keep track. Afterward, when I stepped

outside, the town’s ancient walls were cast in the

mellow golden glow of sodium-vapor streetlamps—

the electrical equivalent, it struck me, of vin jaune.

My footsteps on the cobbles seemed embarrassingly

loud. Though I could no longer see them, I was

aware of the terraces and valley below, the vineyards

soft and silent.

I spent my last afternoon in Franche-Comté in

Ornans, the town where the great avant-garde realist

painter and rabble-rouser Gustave Courbet was

born. A visit to Ornans wasn’t part of the original

plan. But all of a sudden I got a bee in my bonnet

about it and pleaded with Maryline. That morning

we’d been in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, sampling the goods

at the marvelous Les Fils d’Emile Pernot absinthe

distillery. Perhaps that accounted for my high spirits.

As an artist, Courbet wanted to knock the world off

its axis, and he very nearly succeeded. Surely if the

absinthe hadn’t done so already, a quick detour to

Ornans wouldn’t knock our world off its axis. We

simply had to squeeze it in. As is so often the case

with these spur-of-the-moment decisions, it became

one of the highlights of the trip.

It wasn’t just the loveliness of the Loue Valley,

though that was exceptional—watery, stony, lush,

and pungently elemental. The landscape seemed not

to have changed much since Courbet painted it so

ravishingly 150 years ago. It was a rare privilege to see

the place with my own eyes and then to see it once

more through Courbet’s, in the paintings at the

Musée Courbet. Wonderful as he was at executing

huge, complicated group pictures, his small paintings

and preliminary sketches on paper could be equally

impressive—dense, vivid, exquisitely observed. For

me, he is not only the preeminent painter of Franche-

Comté but also the region’s greatest ambassador, the

finest embodiment of the qualities that make it so

special. His position among French artists mirrors

that of Franche-Comté among French regions: as

magnificent as any other you might care to mention,

as worthy of attention and admiration, as capable of

both theatrical grandeur and masterful subtlety—

though lacking, in the eyes of the world, quite the

same celebrity as certain of its peers. And, yes, that

means you, Burgundy.

82

Jura Highlights

STAY

Château du Mont Joly, Sampans

Really a restaurant with rooms upstairs—

which is convenient after you have con-

sumed more than your own body weight in

morels. It’s a labor of love for Romuald

Fassenet (ex-Matignon and La Tour d’Argent)

and his sommelier wife, Catherine. This is

Jura de luxe. Doubles from $123, dinner for

two from $156; chateaumontjoly.com

Le Relais des Abbesses, Château-Chalon

An antidote to all that is slick and corporate.

Quirky, characterful, and charming, with

breathtaking views. Doubles from $95;

relais-des-abbesses.fr

Château de Germigney, Port-Lesney

A Relais & Châteaux hotel much admired

for its restaurant and lovely garden, with

chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, and more

than a hint of hauteur. There are tablecloths

not only on the tables but also on the

chairs. Doubles from $170, dinner for two

from $195; chateaudegermigney.com

Hotel Le Sauvage, Besançon

In the shadow of the great citadel and

as creaky, historic, and picturesque as

its surroundings. Doubles from $115;

hotel-lesauvage.com

EAT

Le Grand Jardin, Baume-les-Messieurs

Uncomplicated and unpretentious, with

a handful of outdoor tables and no shortage

of vin jaune. Lunch for two from $100;

legrandjardin.fr

Les Fils d’Emile Pernot, La Cluse-et-Mijoux

The ultimate digestif, which you will need

toward the end of a trip to Franche-Comté—

superior absinthe is distilled on site and

served with wit and wisdom by the makers

themselves. Free guided tours and tastings

daily except Sundays; emilepernot.fr S.K.

For more information on the Jura region, visit

bourgognefranchecomte.com

Outdoor dining at Le 76 bistro on a popular street in Besançon

83

into the

great wideopenAmericans are traveling

again, often on four wheels, in ways that help them see their country—

and themselves—in a whole new light

By Amanda Fortini Photograph by Ian Patterson

The view from the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park, Utah

hen I was child, my grandfather, a traveling sales-

man for a scrap-metal company based in the

Midwest, would occasionally take us on weekend

jaunts through the landscapes he knew best. We’d

pile into his boat-size Cadillac (my two sisters, a cousin or two, my

mother or my Aunt Debbie, and me) and head to a spot not too far

from his home in Bettendorf, Iowa. We visited the Maquoketa

Caves, their low-slung limestone formations dark and genuinely

spooky to my young self, and Hannibal, Missouri, childhood home

of Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain. That second trip also

involved a cave (the real one in which the fictional Tom Sawyer and

Becky were trapped) as well as a lengthy stop for photos at Lincoln’s

Tomb, in Springfield, Illinois.

I was a petulant 15-year-old at the time and spent much of the

drive pouting in the backseat. But when I think back on those

outings now, I am grateful that my grandfather thought to show his

grandchildren our town, our state, and our country. Americans

under the age of 50 or so have a different relationship to the places

we’re from than previous generations. Many of us did not grow up in

the same town as our parents; many of us do not even live in the

same town or city in which we were born. Few of us have my grand-

father’s decades-deep intimacy with the place we call home.

We don’t notice our surroundings as much, partly because they

have grown more homogeneous, but also because, let’s face it,

where we truly live these days is on our devices. The writer Dorothy

Allison has exhorted us not to think of the concept of place as “just

what your feet are crossing to get somewhere,” but many Americans

have become inured to American places. This is especially true

when we are crossing areas that seem not to be on “our side” of the

increasingly entrenched divide between rural and urban, red and

blue. In recent years, when most of the frequent travelers I know

were trying to get somewhere, it was usually on a plane—to Portugal

or Iceland or Tulum. Once, I told a Hollywood actor my husband

and I had taken a 16-hour road trip. “Do you know how much time

you could save by flying?” he asked, his dark eyes incredulous.

Yet all over America the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a

quiet awakening to our surroundings. By May, two months into

lockdown, I noticed a growing restiveness among people I know.

I live in Livingston, Montana, a gateway town to Yellowstone

National Park, and I began receiving emails and texts from friends

on the coasts asking about vacation rentals. By July, a month after

the Montana entrances to the park had reopened and tourists were

no longer required to quarantine, our little town of 7,000 had begun

to feel noticeably crowded. The stats bear this out: Yellowstone just

followed its second busiest August on record with its busiest Sep-

tember ever. The limited seating at my local restaurants—a few

outdoor tables and a smattering of indoor tables cordoned off by

colored masking tape, like the floor of a high school gym—was

always occupied. On weekend nights at the grocery store, I’d see

campers loading up on Doritos and White Claw.

On Instagram, I began to notice that friends were taking summer

vacations, but instead of flying they were road-tripping in cars or

R.V.s. In some areas, I read, R.V. sales were up 170 percent. I got

together—at a safe distance—with visitors passing through, eating

salad with an old friend and her boyfriend who were camping en

route from Austin to Missoula and walking through the local park

at dusk with a former student and his companion. Some friends

had been forced to travel—a colleague was driving cross-country to

help her sister with newborn twins, another was reporting on the

protests—but mostly I think people were restless, eager to go

somewhere, anywhere, to be once again on the move.

For my part, I enjoyed the simple, almost retro pleasure of just

walking the streets with friends. I liked playing tour guide and redis-

covering the charms of our picturesque small Western town through

their delighted eyes. But I was also restless, bored, and a little

anxious myself. So in August my husband and I got in his truck and

joined the great stream of cross-country travelers, driving 850 miles

from Livingston to Las Vegas and back, detouring to Los Angeles

and stopping in Salt Lake City on our way. Since I am not a camper,

and not even a global pandemic can make me one, we stayed at

fresh-scrubbed hotels that felt clean and safe, masking up when we

got out of the car to buy snacks or pump gas. As we passed through

Montana and Idaho, which were choked with wildfire smoke,

I indeed spotted more R.V.s and Airstreams than I had on any prior

road trip. In Utah, as night fell, we saw bumper-to-bumper traffic

crawling into and out of Zion National Park. We also saw how much

work small businesses and hotels are putting into protecting their

patrons while trying to stay afloat. At this, my heart broke a little.

But simply being around strangers again, nodding in solidarity, and

feeling that familiar sense of rhythmic movement as the wheels hit

the highway beneath me, also raised my spirits.

Of course, no matter what kind of travel you’re planning right

now, there are many considerations to weigh. Local businesses and

economies need the tourism revenue, but tourists, even vigilant

ones, can bring along the virus, and tiny rural hospitals are easily

overwhelmed—as are pristine natural landscapes, by careless, often

illegal campers and their litter. In a larger sense, however, our collec-

tive rediscovery of America, its great beauty and deep sadness, might

help us feel more compassion for one another, and acquire a greater

realism about who our fellow Americans are and what they need.

How do you interact with another person, sip a cup of coffee they

have prepared for you, or handle their carefully tended vegetables at

a farmers market, and not see their humanity? My hope is that all this

traveling through and into the heart of America will make us look up,

around, and beyond ourselves, to see our country with greater

clarity, and its people, our people, with far more empathy.

w

85

off trackPassing through some of the planet’s remotest territories, the Trans-Siberian Railway offers a window onto worlds that are both deeply foreign and surprisingly familiar

Text and photographs by Julian Walter

“In this part of Russia, it snows for a few months, then stops,” says

photographer Julian Walter, who rode on the Trans-Siberian Railway

last winter. “Below a certain temperature, the air no longer holds

moisture.” Powder can linger on the ground for more than six months.

87

In summer the area around Lake Baikal, near the Mongolian border, is a resort

destination, but in winter it gets much quieter. Walter says being on the frozen surface

of the lake—the oldest and deepest in the world—“felt like being on another planet.”

88

one frigid morninglast January, the temperature hovering around -54°F, my good friend James and I

arrived at the train station near the city of Yakutsk, in Russia’s isolated Far East. I’d

been there for two weeks, having flown from my home in London by way of

Moscow; James had come from Tokyo via Vladivostok, a port city on the Sea of

Japan. As we boarded, a fiery orange sunrise pushed over the treetops, its light

spilling into the wood-paneled passenger cars. Ice clung to the inside of the

windows in stubborn hunks, a reminder of the inhospitable environment beyond.

Yakutsk, which is widely regarded as one of the coldest cities in the world, was

nearly inaccessible until the debut, in 2019, of the Amur-Yakutsk Mainline railway

(nicknamed the Permafrost Express), which connected it to the Trans-Siberian

line in the south. When we told locals we planned to take the route, which

mostly serves day laborers and regional commuters, all the way to Moscow, they

couldn’t hide their confusion. It’s true we hadn’t quite grasped the distance, some

5,500 miles covering seven time zones. But reaching the capital was beside the

point. I’d long been fascinated with this mystifying, mammoth country and

wanted to spend days snaking through sleepy, all-but-forgotten villages and cities

like Irkutsk, founded as a Cossack trading post in the 17th century.

Our second-class tickets bought us each a bed in a four-bunk compartment with

a little table for reading or eating. We encountered a curious cast of characters, as

hardworking and amiable as the train itself. One, a burly Kazakhstani immigrant

named Ruslan who’d spent 16 years in a Siberian prison for racketeering, was

traveling to see his wife and son in Mirny, a mining town in the Sakha Republic,

from Oymyakon, some 1,300 miles east. He graciously schooled us in the ways of

the train, explaining its schedule and where to retrieve hot water. In Skovorodino,

40 miles north of the Chinese border, we transferred to the Trans-Siberian line,

where we met Andre, among others, who had a gold front tooth and lots of vodka

and laughs to share. A locomotive operator, he’d boarded at its origin in Vladivostok,

and was headed to the rural village of Sagan-Nur to catch another train, which he’d

help drive all the way west to the town of Petrovsk, just across the Volga River. We

gathered with our new friends in the third-class compartment, a long, communal

car with open bunks, to trade stories and play board games. Most nights we retired

early, rocked to sleep by the train’s slow, ambling movements.

Days we spent glued to the window. Crossing barren swaths of the Sakha Repub-

lic, parts of which lie within the Arctic Circle, everything was still: The landscape,

a silent sea of white, looked like it had been preserved in ice for a thousand years.

We chugged through vast valleys bounded by rolling hills where clusters of wooden

houses sat drowsily, their rooftops dusted with snow. When the train stopped—

sometimes for five minutes, sometimes an hour—passengers would hop out into

the bitter cold to smoke and socialize on the icy platforms, often in pajama

bottoms and T-shirts, coats thrown over their backs.

Eventually, larger towns and cities appeared; we ventured out of the train, its

warm hallways fragrant with the scent of green tea, to Novosibirsk, Siberia’s unof-

ficial capital, and Tyumen, on the Tura River, stopping to mingle with the locals. As

we crept toward Moscow, the weather warmed and our surroundings began to feel

more quotidian, more European. I mostly left my phone off. It felt good to be so

disconnected from my usual reality, both physically and technologically. I used to

marvel at the hulking landmass of Central Asia on the map and wonder what it

might hold. Finally, I’d seen it, its obscure settlements and municipalities and

landscapes so removed that I felt if I stepped outside I might never be found.

89

Ruslan, a Kazakhstani

fellow traveler, on the

platform at Aldan, a town

in the Sakha Republic.

He mines gold and

diamonds in Oymyakon,

almost 600 miles east of

Yakutsk, where winter

temperatures average an

astonishing -58°F.

Inside the train, heavy,

tanklike metal doors keep

icy drafts at bay. “Walking

to another car requires

going through four of

them, plus three chambers,

which are more or less

exposed to the outside air,”

says Walter. “It leaves you

with a quick, bone-chilling

blast that takes several

minutes to recover from.”

90

On the platform in the

town of Tayshet,

northwest of Irkutsk.

According to Walter, at

most train stations in the

more remote corners

of Russia, you can rent a

bed in a dorm-style room

for $20 a night or less.

91

Ride Across

Russia

Travelers seeking

an upscale train

experience in the

country’s hinterlands

can book a Winter

Wonderland journey

along the Trans-

Siberian Railway with

Exeter International.

The trip goes

from Moscow to

Vladivostok aboard

the luxurious Golden

Eagle, with stops

at Lake Baikal,

Ulaanbaatar, and

more. The next trip

runs February 13–27,

2021. From $18,995

per person; exeter

international.com

The outskirts of

Krasnoyarsk, the

Siberian city in which

Ruslan served his prison

sentence, at dusk.

Traveling straight

through from Yakutsk to

Moscow takes six days.

93

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STOR ETimeless prints from the world’s most iconic photographers

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I often get to go to these really cool places for work, though I can’t do much because

of my schedule. But in November 2018, I went to Rome for the first time to shoot

a short film called The Staggering Girl, directed by Luca Guadagnino, and got to frolic around

the city in beautiful Valentino gowns. And I found time to be a tourist. I did guided tours with the

headphones and everything, listening to all of this history of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum,

and different ruins. It allowed me to actually participate so that I was receiving more information—

not just visually but really learning about the richness of the history, stories, and structures.

I even began to understand how Pierpaolo Piccioli translates it all into his Valentino gowns.

When my guided tours finished, I would just keep walking, letting landmarks lead the way. At the

Trevi Fountain, I threw a coin in over my shoulder; they say it means you’re going to come back to

Rome, but my wish was that I would get to go to Spain. People will tell you this ritual has history,

magic, power, or whatever, and in the moment I feel like I actually tapped into that—the magic of

Rome. I rang in that new year in Spain and spent the night thinking back to that legendary Roman

fountain. Taking that trip and making time to be a tourist and really experience the city made me

more proactive about doing things when I go somewhere to film. Most recently, when I was in

London and Morocco shooting The Old Guard, even if I was feeling tired or had worked a 14-hour

day, I would tell myself, ‘You gotta get out.’ So I went to museums, I did bus tours—anything I could

to make the most of that time. I got to really enjoy being there.” as told to meredith carey

kiki layne stars in coming 2 america, out this december

Romekiki layne on


a traveler’s tale

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Here’s hoping I’m on all future guest lists.

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