Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2024 i AFAR

JUSSI PUIKKONEN Photographer In his approach to photography, Jussi Puikkonen says he aims to reflect his subjects as they truly are. Raised in the Finnish woods and now based in Amsterdam, Puikkonen surveyed the Dutch city of Utrecht in Between the Lines (p.82). For this story, he focused on the way the De Stijl movement, a cultural wave that sought to distill objects down to their fundamental forms and colors, shaped the city. “Utrecht is as beautiful as Amsterdam but not as crowded with tourists,” he says. Puikkonen also shoots for Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and Monocle. See more of his work on Instagram @jussipuikkonen. ANNA KIM Writer For Where to Go in 2024 (p.64), journalist Anna Kim writes about a place near and dear to her heart—her hometown of…

YOUR QUESTION IMMEDIATELY brings to mind the cognitive dissonance we experience when inequities of our world are laid bare. How is it that some people can relax for pleasure abroad while others struggle to have enough food, water, and dignity to make it through the day? Who made this system, and how do we repair it? Such questions can short-circuit the best of us. When confronted with our own status as better-off, we can feel overwhelmed by a range of complex emotions. Yes, from one perspective, your actions were correct. You were moved by the scene and sympathized with another person’s situation. In a world that often places greater premium on accumulating profits than on people’s well-being, the fleeting connection between you and the young mother matters greatly. You were,…

THERE’S SOMETHING in the air in Piriápolis. There always has been: Francisco Piria, an alchemist, founded his Belle Époque seaside resort town here in the 1890s, because he loved the supposedly cosmic energy. And visitors have long flocked to the Maldonado region as a whole for its world-class beach towns: flashy Punta del Este and its bohemian cousin, José Ignacio. Today, however, a visit is all about the wine. Travelers can stroll through family-owned vineyards that unfurl toward the ocean, drink Uruguay’s gutsy tannat reds and signature albariño whites, and pair them with the melt-in-your-mouth steaks the country is famous for. Uruguay’s viticulture scene is thriving, and Maldonado on the Atlantic coast is its fastest-growing wine region. In fact, Montevideo’s best-known winemakers, Bodega Bouza, have opened the hilltop restaurant Las…

ST. KITTS, IN THE eastern Caribbean, is an island of thick rainforests and sunny beaches. But during its early colonial era it was blanketed with sugar plantations that were farmed by enslaved African people. Much of the crop was turned into rum, creating a lucrative business for the British. After St. Kitts gained independence in 1983 and shut down its cane sugar production in 2005 (it couldn’t compete with the global industry’s turn to beet sugar), the legacy of Kittitian rum was not forgotten. Now two locally owned companies are reviving the island’s distilling heritage with a proud Kittitian spin. “We have a tradition of making rum called hammond, or bush rum,” says Roger Brisbane, the founder of Hibiscus Spirits and owner of beachside restaurant Spice Mill. “People made it…

GROWING UP IN Los Angeles, I always felt it was so spread out that nothing quite tempted me to leave my neighborhood. Now, as an adult who recently returned from living in New York, I’m willing to battle traffic and get to know more of the city. From contemporary art exhibits at the Broad downtown to sunny afternoons spent at Hollywood’s new restaurant and garden atop the Aster hotel, L.A. offers cultural and outdoor experiences all year round. In February, the largest public art project devoted to Black artists in the United States will open here. The 1.3-mile-long open-air museum, called Destination Crenshaw, will be filled with permanent and temporary outdoor installations featuring works by more than 100 Black artists displayed across four acres of green space. Established and emerging…

THEY SAY UTRECHT I S where you go for Amsterdam’s charms minus the Amsterdam part. The tree-lined canals, cheerful old streets, and orderly mellowness exist here, too, but without the throngs of tourists. An ancient Dutch trading port–turned–university town 33 miles from the capital by car, Utrecht pulls off that European trick of being both historic and edgy in the same breath. Old vaulted wharf cellars, converted into tiny cafés and restaurants and apartments, open onto those canals. Stylish students laugh about stylish things under willow trees. Within an hour of arriving in the city, I watched two scarf-wearing women mount bikes at the Saturday flower market, tuck tulips into their baskets, and pedal off holding hands. You can live your whole life in the United States and never see…

Whether it’s a Scandinavian country finding new ways to show off its beauty (pictured) or a laid-back Kenyan island free of cars, our 25 picks for where to go this year have several traits in common: Each is an awe-inspiring, joy-inducing destination where human connection and creativity define the travel experience. These places offer ample opportunities for conscientious, sustainable exploration—exactly what travelers who care are seeking right now. Cheers to another year of getting out there!…

PRONOUNCED BURR-NO, ideally with a luxuriously rolled “r,” Czechia’s second-largest city is roughly a quarter the size of Prague and receives almost none of its international tourists. Yet it is Brno, not the capital, that has been designated one of UNESCO’s Cities of Music, honoring its thriving network of bars, nightclubs, and concert spaces, along with its world-class festival calendar. The scene here offers everything from the banjo punk of homegrown band Poletíme to JazzFestBrno, whose 2024 performers include Grammy Award–winning singer Samara Joy. Between the golf ball–shaped and acoustically advanced Sono Centrum venue and the imposing medieval walls of Špilberk Castle (where the city’s philharmonic performs), there are few spots in Brno that aren’t pressed into musical service. In the summer, it’s the streets themselves—lined with a quirky confusion…

1. SAN DIEGO & TIJUANA World Design Capital 2024 Cross-border collaboration is the theme here, as these two cities, just 20 miles apart, share the World Design Organization’s biennial designation. That translates to a series of events in both places. La Frontera, an exhibition focused on jewelry design, will take place January 27 to August 4 at San Diego’s Mingei International Museum and February 16 to June 9 at the Tijuana Cultural Center (CECUT). In September, the weeklong World Design Experience, an interactive showcase of design, will appear at multiple venues in San Diego. Additional travel-worthy art and architecture await: In San Diego, seek out the Salk Institute, a landmark of modern concrete buildings, or the University of California San Diego’s geometric Geisel Library (named for Dr. Seuss); in Tijuana,…

THE LAST REMAINING Buddhist kingdom in the world is not easy to reach, but that’s what makes arriving even more rewarding. As our pilot landed between 18,000-foot Himalayan peaks at Bhutan’s Paro International Airport (which looks more like a temple), I could see that I was in a place unlike anywhere else. Bhutan only opened its doors to tourism in 1974 and has put measures in place to make sure that tourists don’t overrun its pristine nature or long-preserved culture. With a strong conservation mindset, it is the world’s first carbon-negative country: 60 percent of its landscape must be covered in forest, and tourists have always been required to pay a daily fee. Since 2022, the fee has been used to support local environmental and community projects. Starting in September…

Lively university vibes, frisky nightlife, iconic canals: Utrecht offers much of what nearby Amsterdam does, without the crowds and fuss. (It also has delights all its own. Devotees of Miffy, the cartoon rabbit immortalized by the Dutch artist Dick Bruna, are cheering the recent renovation and expansion of the city’s beloved Miffy Museum.) In addition to the classic sites—the Rietveld Schröder House, the Centraal Museum, the Van Schijndel House—the following belong on the traveler’s itinerary. DO Domtoren Utrecht’s most visible landmark, this 14th-century Gothic bell tower rises 369 elevator-free feet above the city, an athletic attraction as well as a historic one. The heart and bowels of two Holy Roman emperors are allegedly interred here. This is old Utrecht distilled. De Stijl Bike Tour In honor of De Stijl’s 100th…

TOKYO AMAN TOKYO Set in Otemachi, this hotel is known for excellent service. Its 84 guest rooms are a minimalist’s dream, with chestnut floors, sliding shoji screens, floor-to-ceiling windows, and stone furo tubs. MANDARIN ORIENTAL, TOKYO Occupying the top nine floors of the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, the Mandarin Oriental showcases postcard views of Tokyo and its surrounds. The 157 rooms and 22 suites were designed with bonsai trees and sakura motifs. OSAKA HOSHINO RESORTS OMO7 OSAKA Free tours of Osaka’s famed street food scene are just one of the perks at this family-friendly resort, located near the city’s Tsutenkaku Tower. CONRAD OSAKA A stylish sanctuary on Nakanoshima, an island in the city center, the Conrad Osaka has more than 380 artworks. Don’t miss a trip to the spa, where services…

1. PARIS The City of Light has been preparing to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympics with signature French élan. (Swimming events in the Seine! BMX freestyle on the Place de la Concorde!) “There is much to consider if you want to be in Paris for the Olympics,” says Martha King, whose namesake travel agency is helping visitors who want to attend the Games. There are more than 3,500 combinations of Olympic events and sessions; hopeful attendees should act quickly, King says. The city is, of course, festive throughout the year and worth a trip any time. Before April 2, travelers can enjoy the Mark Rothko exhibition at the Frank Gehry–designed Fondation Louis Vuitton. Afterward, head to the Left Bank for a champagne spritz and Eiffel Tower…

WITH A SKYLINE that resembles a handful of dice tossed haphazardly on the cliffside, Tangier has long stood apart from other Moroccan cities. For several decades in the 20th century, it was administered by a cluster of foreign countries, including Italy and Spain. It lured writers and artists from Europe and the United States, imparting a cosmopolitan vibe that still lingers today. In the past five years, though, Morocco’s northernmost city has reconnected with its national roots. In 2018, Africa’s first high-speed train line made it possible to travel between Casablanca and Tangier in two hours; it was part of an extensive infrastructure investment to bolster the region. The arrival of new luxury hotels is a boon, including the 133-room Fairmont Tazi Palace and the Villa Mabrouka, a boutique 12-room…

THE MEAL STARTED WITH octopus carpaccio, wagyu beef gyoza, and yellowtail sushi. After my husband and I polished that off, the waiter set down Ibérico pork marinated in soy and truffle. Seated on a snaking banquette at Seen by Olivier, the rooftop restaurant at the new Anantara Palazzo Naiadi hotel, we enjoyed dish after dish. When I first lived in Rome back in 2009, I was hard-pressed to find such globally inspired fare; though it is a major European capital, it had tended to the traditional. But the Eternal City is changing. Anantara is one of several hotel brands imbuing the city with a more international flair. Just in 2023, InterContinental, Bulgari, Edition, and Six Senses each debuted new properties in Rome. In the pipeline: hotels by Four Seasons, Rosewood,…

1. SEATTLE In a city known for the outdoors, Seattle’s cultural offerings take the spotlight in 2024. The Museum of History and Industry uses games, videos, and other interactive displays to examine the confluence of tradition and modernism in Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science (through March 3). The Seattle Art Museum pays homage to Alexander Calder (below) with Calder: In Motion, an exhibition that spans the sculptor’s career (through August 4). Henry Art Gallery on the University of Washington campus showcases multimedia and social-justice artist Hank Willis Thomas in LOVERULES (February 24–August 4). And the Seattle Aquarium’s redesigned Ocean Pavilion will open summer 2024, featuring sharks, rays, coral, and mangroves in a reef ecosystem. 2. DETROIT Detroit’s Michigan Central, a Beaux-Arts former train station, has been reimagined as…

BY MOST MEASURES, Toronto is more diverse than any city in the world, including New York City and London. More than half its population of 3 million was born outside of Canada, and upward of 180 languages are spoken here. The city’s multicultural identity has been further solidified with the 2023 mayoral election of Olivia Chow, the first woman of color to hold the post. “It’s important to reflect who we are representing,” she said when she won. “It’s saying to every Torontonian, ‘Doesn’t matter where you came from, what your skin color is, faith—if you have the passion and ideas to contribute to the city, please, the door’s open.’” My family immigrated to Toronto 36 years ago from Korea. Growing up, my social circle gave me insights into other…