CATEGORIES

Sands of Time - Sculpted by millennia, Chad is a place of ancient geology and epic grandeur. Aminatta Forna finds her place in it all

The 15,000-square-mile Ennedi Massif, in north-eastern Chad, is a plateau the size of Switzerland. Between 350 million and 500 million years ago, this part of the globe was an ocean. Then the ocean disappeared, leaving the sandstone floor exposed. The climate shifted from rain-soaked to arid. Sun, wind, and water sculpted the sandstone into a dramatic, desolate, unearthly landscape of gorges and valleys, inselbergs and stacks, towering tassili and natural arches. In the desert the delicate threads of life become apparent in trails of tiny footprints scattered across the sands: here, the tear-shaped tracks of a lizard; there, the dimpled prints of a gerbil.

Antiques Road Show - After buying a second home, in France, the designer Claire Vivier called up fellow designer Kate Berry to go on the ultimate shopping spree

When Los Angeles-based designer Clare Vivier began decorating the 19th-century house she'd bought in her husband's hometown of Saint-Calais, in France's Loire Valley, she had a particular aesthetic in mind. I love color and patterns but wanted something peaceful, so the intention was to create a dialogue between those two things, she says. She wanted the house to have a blend of contemporary pieces, antiques, and textiles from heritage maisons to create a space that, much like her namesake handbag and fashion label, channeled both California fun and French sophistication. She also knew that she wanted her longtime friend Kate Berry, a designer and creative director, to help her make it happen.

The Slow Road - Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike - coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba

Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike - coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba. At the peak of the day's heat, I pulled into the tiny hamlet of Hirase, in Japan's Gifu Prefecture. I'd just climbed a twisting, waterfall-lined road several thousand feet through Hakusan National Park before descending into the shimmering fantasy landscape of Shirakawa-go, an almost Tolkien-esque village (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) comprising centuries-old farmhouses with peaked thatch roofs.

SHAILENE WOODLEY on FIJI

I was in Suva, the capital of Fiji, making a film, and our crew took over half of the Grand Pacific Hotel.

easy does it

Beyond the bubble of Queenstown, New Zealand's majestic Otago region offers the kinds of adventures you can truly appreciate only by slowing down

gather round

The secret ingredient in Philadelphia's lauded food scene? The empathy of the locals behind it

THE PAST IS PRESENT

Beguilingly complex Istanbul has done a lot of soul-searching in recent years. Lale Arikoglu digs into the city's modern identity - while tracing the roots of her own

Creation Story

Modern-day craftspeople are bringing back traditional Arabian arts in Jeddah's Old Town of Al-Balad

Continental Drift

For her first trip to Africa, aboard an HX Hurtigruten cruise ship, Sarah Greaves Gabbadon confronts her assumptions about what a homeland means

On the Rise

With new hotels, climbing routes, and biking trails, Colorado's low-key, high-elevation Western Slope is ripe for adventure

Bread of Life

Throughout Armenia, chefs and restaurateurs are celebrating the country's culinary heritage and history

SUN IS SHINING

Jamaican reggae singer Lila Iké shares a musical itinerary through Kingston

BUILT TO LAST

Fashion designer Phillip Lim assembles a dream trip to Sri Lanka around one of his architectural heroes and returns home full of fresh ideas

Motor City Makeover - Detroit is one of our Best Places to Go in North America in 2024.

A once abandoned train station, now given second life, is acenterpiece of Detroit's rebirth

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

A new crop of understated camps in Botswana appeals to travelers seeking a no-frills wildlife experience

THE CITY OF LIGHT, DONE RIGHT

The dancer, choreographer, and model Salif Gueye on where to dine, shop, and disco in Paris

COLD COMFORT

North of Copenhagen, a wild and windy sweep of Danish coast has become an unlikely surf and lifestyle hub

HUNGRY HEARTS

Drawing on abundant ingredients and ancestral influences, restaurant menus across Guatemala are showcasing the country’s soul

On the Right Track

The return of Belmond's iconic Eastern & Oriental Express brings the romance of train travel to the wilds of Malaysia

Let the River Answer

On a rafting trip in Canada’s remote Northwest Territories, Jayme Moye discovers what’s beneath the surface of one of the world’s most pristine natural wonderlands

House of Heritage

At Louis Vuitton’s workshop and family home just outside Paris, meticulous craftsmanship is a way of life

Food for the Soul

On the latest of many trips to Thailand, Tom Parker Bowles delights in flavors that never cease to challenge and comfort him

ACTOR RASHIDA JONES on JAPAN

When I was in Kyoto filming my new show Sunny in 2022, I started a list of things that I wanted to remember once I didn't live there anymore.

around every corner

Wherever you turn in Palermo, the layered and chaotic capital of Sicily, secrets and stories await

NATIVE SOIL

Travel to Maui is still way down after last year's devastating wildfires. The locals want you back-as long as you're willing to engage in a new way of doing things that puts the health of the island above all else

on top of the world

In central Nepal a sumptuous new hotel provides a gateway to the austere and once forbidden kingdom of Mustang

ENDLESS SUMMER

During a week of campfires, perch prepared every which way, caught-in-time Main Streets, and enough wakeboarding wipeouts to last an eternity, Ashlea Halpern learns to love the Minnesota lake life

PAINT THE TOWN

In residential South Kolkata, enterprising young locals are turning brightly colored old estates, once doomed for demolition, into the city's latest hot spots

lost in time

On an epic, sun-soaked journey across southern Greece's Peloponnese, Antonia Quirke revels in her connection to the history and myths that swirl around its rugged shores

home is where you make it

On a road trip through Oman with her toddler son, Ashlea Halpern ponders what it means to be a parent in the wake of her father's death