Palermo Must-See Guide, the Places I Would Never Let a Friend Skip
My Palermo must-see list, from the gold of the Cappella Palatina and Monreale to Serpotta’s oratories, the Ballarò market and the street food worth queuing for, with practical notes on opening days and tickets.
Lisbon Is So Multilayered, Literally
From bustling Rua Augusta to the pastel houses climbing the hills, Lisbon reveals an extraordinary city built in layers.
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper: An Incredible Art Museum in Brittany
Discover the remarkable Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper, where Breton painting and the artistic legacy of the Pont-Aven School make for an unforgettable museum visit.
Florence Leaves Room for the Unexpected
A towering contemporary sculpture, warm Florentine facades and the everyday movement of Piazza della Signoria reveal a city that is more than its familiar Renaissance image.
Why Bordeaux Is Never Boring
Bordeaux stays interesting in the space between its monuments, where cafe tables, shopping streets and everyday life keep changing the view.
Évora, a Roman Temple, a Chapel of Bones and a Walled Town in the Alentejo
Évora is still wrapped in its walls, with a Roman temple on the hilltop and a chapel lined with bones. Come for the day, but stay for the evening.
Porte de Bourgogne Marks the Entrance to Historic Bordeaux
Begin a walk through historic Bordeaux at Porte de Bourgogne, the eighteenth-century stone gateway facing the Pont de Pierre.
What Museum Rooms Tell Us Before We Look at the Exhibits
A museum visit begins before you read the first label. The entrance establishes a pace, a staircase draws you upward, and the first room suggests…
The First Hour After Arriving in an Unfamiliar City
The first hour in a new city is often spent trying to make it resemble the plan. You find the hotel, open a map, check…
Bom Jesus do Monte and the Art of the Climb in Braga
White zigzagging walls, sculpted fountains and deep woodland make the ascent to Braga’s Bom Jesus do Monte a journey worth taking slowly.
Quimper, Brittany: A Gothic Cathedral, Medieval Walls and Gardens Full of Color
Discover Quimper in Brittany, where Saint-Corentin Cathedral rises above medieval stone walls and the colorful Jardin de la Retraite.
Largo do Chiado at Night: A Brasileira, the Bronze Poet and a Floor Made of Waves
The frame is taken from standing height, phone held out at chest level, somewhere near the top of Rua Garrett where the street opens into…
Sintra at Noon, Venice at Midnight: Six European Cities and the Hour That Suits Them
Photo essay · Six frames A tiled cloister at noon, an empty campo near midnight, a beer garden in the twenty minutes when the sky…
Porto’s Chestnut Season Is the Shoulder Season Worth Booking
The cart is a steel box on wheels with a rusted iron dome bolted to the top, an orange rag knotted round the rail, and…
Venice at Night Is the Version No Access Fee Covers
The last vaporetto of the evening pulls away from the Rialto stop and takes most of the noise with it. What is left on the…
The 18th-Century Fountain Hidden Inside Bordeaux’s Customs Museum Courtyard
Most visitors to Bordeaux’s Place de la Bourse stop at the riverfront to photograph the golden crescent of facades and the famous Miroir d’Eau. Few…
The Bilbao Effect, 500 Years Early: Jerónimos Monastery And The Guggenheim
Two buildings, one peninsula, five centuries apart — and the same strategic instinct behind both of them. Jerónimos Monastery, Belém, Lisbon. Jerónimos Monastery went up…
Bilbao’s Quiet Renaissance: From Industrial Port to Design Destination
Thirty years ago, Bilbao was a byword for industrial decline. Its shipyards were closing, its river was polluted with decades of steel and shipping runoff,…
Lisbon’s Seven Hills: A Walking Guide That Tells You the Truth
The seven hills of Lisbon are not a selling point. They are a physical fact of the city that every piece of tourism copy romanticizes…
New Orleans: An American City That Plays by Different Rules
New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718, transferred to Spain in 1762, returned to France in 1800, sold to the United States in…
Ha Long Bay Without the Cruise Brochure
Ha Long Bay contains roughly 1,600 limestone karst islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. The number matters because it explains both…
Istanbul at the Threshold: A City That Has Always Been Two Things at Once
Istanbul is the only city in the world that occupies two continents. The Bosphorus Strait — 30 kilometers long, less than a kilometer wide at…
Iceland’s Ring Road: What the Drive Teaches You That No Photograph Can
Route 1 circles Iceland in 1,332 kilometers. Most drivers do it in seven to ten days, which is enough time to complete the loop but…
Marrakech’s Medina: How to Read a City That Was Not Designed for You
The Marrakech medina is a walled city of roughly three square kilometers that has been continuously inhabited since the eleventh century. It was not designed…