Before you do the math (how did I add 200-some new entries but still keep my original 1,000 favorites?), I should first explain that rethinking and reorganizing the book allowed me to open up new pages to fill with new adventures. I thoroughly deconstructed and then rewrote the wealth of information from the first 1,000 Places, creating a whole new tantalizing homage to the world’s bounty. Instead of featuring single locations as I had in the original, I have now merged two—and sometimes more—destinations into a single, more comprehensive piece, creating an embellished travel experience (in many cases a mini-itinerary). The original entries about gorgeous Shoal Bay Beach and the iconic hotels of Anguilla have become part of one entry that showcases the entire island: It is small enough to drive around in a day, and now you’ll know where to stop along the way.
This book is a grab bag of all those wonders, a glorious mix of the unfamiliar and the predictable, a reminder that even in this global age of a homogenizing world, there are still remarkable and wonderful things to behold. In each of these thousand places, I hope I have imbued that same simple sense of wonder—like that of my nieces’ Iceland odyssey or my journey to Santo Domingo when I first understood how far I could reach.
Who was it that said “You can’t have a narrow mind if you have a fat passport”? I think travel makes you a better person and a more aware global citizen. I know that I cherish it as a privilege and a gift—it lifts me up, lightens me, expands me. Most important, and most simply, travel brings us joy. So, what are you waiting for? If you’re waiting for a special occasion to make your next trip happen, then consider this: The day you get off the couch and head for the airport, that’s the special occasion.
How This Book Is Organized
For the purposes of this book, I’ve divided the world into eight regions, which are further subdivided geographically:
• EUROPE: Great Britain and Ireland, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia
• AFRICA: North Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa, the Islands of the Indian Ocean
• THE MIDDLE EAST
• ASIA: East Asia, South and Central Asia, Southeast Asia
• AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS
• THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA: Subdivided by state or province
• LATIN AMERICA: Mexico and Central America, South America and Antarctica
• THE CARIBBEAN, THE BAHAMAS, AND BERMUDA
Within these divisions, entries are further divided by country (see the table of contents for a quick reference), and within each country they’re organized alphabetically by region or town. At the end of the book, you’ll find 12 thematic indexes that allow you to find information by type of experience, including Gorgeous Beaches and Getaway Islands, Unrivaled Museums, and Sacred Places.
Each entry ends with practical information that will help you in planning a trip—including telephone numbers, web addresses, and prices of the sites mentioned. But remember: Since travel information is always subject to change, you should confirm by phone or e-mail before you leave home.
How the Listings Are Organized Here’s a run-through of the information you’ll see at the end of most of the entries.
WHERE
The distance of the site from a major city or airport.
VISITOR INFO
The official website of the region’s board of tourism.
INFO and/or the NAMES OF THE SITES within the entry
The telephone and web address of the entry sites.
A note on phone numbers: All phone numbers in the book are listed with their country codes, so to call any of them from your home country, you simply have to dial your international access code (011 in the U.S. and Canada; 0011 in Australia; 00 in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand; etc.), then the listed number. U.S. and Canadian telephone numbers are listed without the country code; to call these countries from outside their borders, simply add the number “1” at the beginning, after dialing your international access code. In many countries, you must add a 0 before the local number when calling within the borders. (Naturally, you do not need to dial the country code in these instances.)
HOW
“How” includes information on recommended outfitters or operators who offer tours, treks, cruises, safaris, and other packages or customized travel to or within the destination.
WHERE TO STAY
Hotels and inns listed under this head, though not discussed in the entry text, are good lodging recommendations located near the topic of the entry.
COST
I’ve listed prices for all hotels, restaurants, and organized trips discussed in the entry, based on the following parameters:
HOTELS: Listed hotel costs are per standard double room, unless noted otherwise. Where available, hotel entries include information for peak and off-peak seasons. Complimentary breakfasts are not mentioned. Remember that many hotels are flexible with their prices—sometimes extremely so—offering various discounts to keep occupancy high throughout the year. Always make sure to check for special promotions on the hotel website and/or ask about them by phone.
Some hotels and resorts (and many safari lodges and camps and eco-lodges) post rates that are per person based on double occupancy and include breakfast and dinner (and sometimes lunch). For these I have noted prices that are per person, inclusive. When more amenities are included, such as guided tours, use of recreational facilities, lectures, classes, etc., it’s noted as all-inclusive.
TRIPS/TREKS/EXCURSIONS/CRUISES: Trip costs are usually given in total, per person, based on double occupancy. They are noted as all-inclusive when accommodations, meals, land or water transportation, amenities, etc., are included. When these are only partially included, it’s noted as inclusive. Airfare is not included unless specifically stated.
RESTAURANTS: Meal prices listed are per person and represent the approximate total cost of a three-course a la carte meal without wine. The price of a prix-fixe menu is given when it is the only offering or is particularly recommended. Costs are rarely given for bars, pubs, or cafés.
WHEN
For the most part, “When” indicates seasonal closings. It will not appear if the establishment is open year-round, or if the seasonal closing is brief (less than 6 weeks). For package trips, “When” includes the months that the outfitter offers a particular trip.
In general, it’s wise to contact hotels, restaurants, and attractions if traveling during off-season months to confirm that they are open, and also to bear in mind peak season crowds or large local or cultural holidays when hotels at your destination may be full. The Bank Holidays of the World website (www.bank-holidays.com) maintains a worldwide database of public holidays during which you may encounter crowds or closures.
BEST TIMES
For most entries, I’ve listed the best months to visit, taking into account weather, local festivals, sports and leisure opportunities, peak tourist crowds, and other significant events. When no “Best times” are listed, the reason is the place is “wonderful anytime.” For example, it is always a good time to visit the Louvre in Paris!
Travel Safety
This book represents travel opportunities in an ideal, peaceful world. However, that’s not the world we live in today. Travelers will generally be perfectly safe visiting most of the destinations discussed, but a few places may pose some risk, either currently or in the future. Therefore, before making plans to travel to destinations with which you’re not familiar, be sure to do your homework, especially if you will be traveling alone. The U.S. Department of State maintains travel advisories on its website at www.travel.state.gov. Other information listed includes a general overview of each country, entry requirements for U.S. citizens, and information on health, safety, crime, and other travel issues.
The British Foreign & Commonwealth Office maintains similar information on its website, www.fco.gov.uk, in the “Travel and living abroad” section.
Travel Documents
In add
ition to a valid passport, many countries listed in this book require that foreign citizens obtain travel visas in advance of their trip. U.S. citizens can look online at www.travel.state.gov, which notes the documentation required for each country and provides a link to the country’s embassy. British citizens should go to www.fco.gov.uk.
EUROPE
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
WESTERN EUROPE
EASTERN EUROPE
SCANDINAVIA
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
Hallowed Seat of Academia
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
Cambridgeshire, England
Cambridge is one of Europe’s oldest centers of learning—with its first college founded in 1284—and one of the most prestigious as well. Its 31 colleges have produced alumni as varied as John Milton, Stephen Hawking, Iris Murdoch, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Oliver Cromwell, and it consistently ranks among the world’s top universities.
Greatest of all its historic sights is King’s College Chapel, called by Henry James “the most beautiful [chapel] in England.” Begun in 1441, it remains the country’s finest example of the late-Gothic English style known as Perpendicular. Rubens’s 17th-century Adoration of the Magi hangs behind the main altar, softly lit by vast 16th-century stained-glass windows beneath an awe-inspiring fan-vaulted ceiling. If you’re here on Christmas Eve and join the long line early, you may get to attend the much-loved Festival of Nine Carols and Lessons sung by a student choir, a tradition since 1918.
In spring and summer enjoy a classic view of the chapel from the Backs, the mile-long strip of emerald green lawns along the banks of the lovely River Cam, where “punting”—floating on a wooden, flat-bottomed boat slowly maneuvered by a pole—is a pastime not to be missed. Be sure to include a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum, one of Britain’s oldest and finest public art museums. Its prize collection centers around 17th-century Dutch art, enriched with masterpieces by everyone from Titian and Michelangelo to the French Impressionists.
Wander down the town’s narrow lanes lined with cluttered bookstores, historic inns, and pubs, and quench your thirst at the Eagle, where students have been propping up the bar for centuries. Then retire to the nearby Hotel du Vin, a stylish, modern lodging option in a medieval former university building, today well known for its classic bistro. Or leave the city behind and stay at the Hotel Felix, a large Victorian manse about a mile from the town center, with sleek contemporary rooms and an excellent restaurant.
The River Cam flows through the heart of the university.
WHERE: 55 miles/88 km north of London. VISITOR INFO: www.visitcambridge.org. FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM: Tel 44/1223-332-900; www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk. HOTEL DU VIN: Tel 44/1223-227-330; www.hotelduvin.com. Cost: from $225; dinner $45. HOTEL FELIX: Tel 44/1223-277-977; www.hotelfelix.co.uk. Cost: from $195; dinner $50. BEST TIME: May–Sep for nicest weather.
A Walled City and Architectural Feast
CHESTER
Cheshire, England
The city of Chester boasts a broad and intriguing cross-section of English history stretching back more than 2,000 years. It was important in Roman times (the remains of the country’s largest amphitheater are here), then again in the Middle Ages, and once more during an 18th-century revival that inspired author James Boswell to write in 1779: “It pleases me more than any town I ever saw.” Chester still has much to show for its historical heydays. A well-preserved fortified wall, constructed during the Roman period and rebuilt over the following centuries, surrounds much of the city. Its ramparts are topped by a 2-mile footpath, providing a lovely vantage point on the pinkish red sandstone tower and spires of the medieval cathedral and passing the 19th-century Eastgate, where Chester’s famous wrought-iron clock tower proudly stands.
Within the walls is one of England’s best collections of half-timbered buildings, some of their façades a riot of black-and-white patterns. Especially famous are the Rows: highly decorated two-story buildings with connecting walkways above street level. After a day full of history and architecture, repair to the serenity of the city’s premier hotel, the Chester Grosvenor. This Tudor-style building in the heart of the historic neighborhood is owned by the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estate and traces its origins to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Its sophisticated Simon Radley restaurant, named after its noted chef, is one of the finest in the region. If you prefer relaxing away from the center’s bustle, the Stone Villa, in the neighborhood of Hoole, is a friendly ten-room guesthouse with a professional and welcoming staff. It is less than a mile from the historic sites, a pleasant 15-minute walk.
WHERE: 207 miles/333 km northwest of London. CHESTER GROSVENOR: Tel 44/1244-324-024; www.chestergrosvenor.com. Cost: from $390; dinner $105. STONE VILLA: Tel 44/1244-345-014; www.stonevillachester.co.uk. Cost: from $115. BEST TIMES: May–Sep for pleasant weather; Jul (typically) for the classical Summer Music Festival.
Treasures at the End of the Earth
LAND’S END
Cornwall, England
Land’s End is the far southwestern tip of the English mainland, where the country plunges over sheer cliffs and into the Atlantic. Once the ancient kingdom of Kernow, now the county of Cornwall, this timeless landscape is rich in history and atmosphere. Once upon a time, a lonely pub called the First-and-Last Inn stood here; now there’s a theme park, but the natural scenery never fails to be awe-inspiring.
A few miles east is the fantastical castle-topped island of St. Michael’s Mount, attached to the mainland by nothing more than a cobbled causeway that’s covered at high tide. It was originally created in 1135 as a sister abbey to the more famous Mont St-Michel across the English Channel in Normandy (see p. 110). The arduous climb to the top, rising 250 feet from the sea, is well worth it for the dazzling views. Nearby, on the mainland, is Penzance, the westernmost town in England, a workaday port famous as the home of Gilbert and Sullivan’s singing pirates. Hidden away in a narrow lane is the Abbey Hotel, a historic building that 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton turned into one of the most eclectic and charming hotels around. For more history, plus a pint of Cornish ale, visit the Turk’s Head, an old pub in the center of town, famously damaged—along with much of old Penzance—during a Spanish invasion in 1595, but thriving today.
Ferries leave from Penzance for the Isles of Scilly, a group of 100-plus mostly uninhabited rocky islands. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, they feature unspoiled beaches, exotic palms, and swarms of rare sea birds. You’ll even find world-famous subtropical gardens on the island of Tresco. The only place worth staying on this car-free escape is also one of its highlights: The Island House offers a seasonal sailing school, noted gardens, and open views of the sea and other islands.
Northeast of Land’s End is the little holiday resort and harbor town of St. Ives, where an almost Mediterranean quality of light has attracted artists for many years. A Cubist tumble of well-kept white cottages overlooks a bay, and art galleries and artisans’ shops line the narrow streets. London’s Tate Gallery has an offshoot here in a handsome rotunda above the sea. Nearby is the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, studio and home of St. Ives’s leading artist, who, together with her husband, painter Ben Nicholson, helped establish this port town as a haven for avant-garde and abstract artists in the 1930s. After browsing the galleries or riding the surf, relax at one of St. Ives’s best hotels, Primrose Valley, a delightfully stylish, friendly option on the seafront.
St. Michael’s Mount is dedicated to the archangel of the same name, who is said to have appeared here in a vision in the year 495.
WHERE: 332 miles/534 km southwest of London. ST. MICHAEL’S MOUNT: www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk. ABBEY HOTEL: Tel 44/1736-366-906; www.theabbeyonline.co.uk. Cost: from $195. When: closed early Jan–late Mar. ISLAND HOUSE: Tel 44/1720-423-008; www.tresco.co.uk. Cost: from $400, inclusive. TATE ST. IVES: Tel 44/1736-796-226; www.tate.org.uk/stives. PRIMROSE VALLEY HOTEL: Tel 44/1736-794-939; www.primroseonline.co.uk. Cost: from $150 (off-peak), from $195 (peak). BEST
TIMES: Apr–Oct for best weather; Sep for St. Ives September Festival for music and art.
Tropical Air and Mediterranean Flavors
PADSTOW AND ST. MAWES
Cornwall, England
On the ruggedly beautiful north coast of Cornwall is the friendly port of Padstow. This is one of the region’s oldest towns, founded in the 6th century and quaint enough to attract those en route to Land’s End (see p. 4). But most visitors come explicitly to dine at the Seafood Restaurant, a light, airy, plant-filled restaurant housed in a former quayside grain warehouse. Diners thrill to classic dishes (grilled Dover sole, local oysters) and imaginative adaptations (a light bouillabaisse, seafood ravioli) alike. Chef-owner, author, BBC food-series personality, and pioneering seafood guru Rick Stein is perhaps best known for his signature fruits de mer plate, handpicked off the trawlers bobbing outside. Devotees can stay overnight in rooms above the restaurant or at one of Stein’s other stylish and comfortable accommodations in town.
Another wondrous example of nature’s bounty can be enjoyed about 15 miles south of Padstow at the Eden Project, where two giant greenhouses (the largest in the world) form a unique oasis of trees and plants. Conceived in the 1990s by Tim Smit, the project was completed in 2001, and today it is one of the most visited sites in the region. The larger is the moist, tropical biome, where palms and giant bamboo grow as well as commercial crops such as bananas, coffee, and rubber. Raised wooden walkways take visitors past a plunging waterfall. Next door, the Mediterranean biome is warm and dry, with plants that thrive in more arid conditions, including olive trees and grape vines.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 2