20 Best Places To Visit In 2021

1.KYOTO, JAPAN

Kyoto is a simple combination of present and past. Its revolutionary railway station purrs similar a well-oiled engine, although beyond the modern shopping centres and hotels(glassy) you’ll discover centuries-old Shinto shrines and tranquil karesansui rock gardens.

Of course, Japan will likewise be hosting ‘the big one’ – the 2020 Olympic games, and hoteliers in Kyoto are ramping up their rooms to account for the crowds. The city is likely to take a new, several of them first-timers, at the end of 2019, as Japan hosts the arrival of visitors Rugby World Cup. As intrusive fans discover beyond the designated stadium cities, Kyoto could see its numbers meaningfully great.

Hotel Fauchon, the second hotel from the Parisian delicatessen brand, will be exposed next year in the central Shimogyo-Ku district packed with fully in demand izakaya pubs and the feudal-era Shosei-en Garden. The cool Ace Hotel has likewise singled out Kyoto for its next Asian outpost, set to launch in spring 2020. The building has been planned by world-renowned architect Kengo Kuma, who as well drew up the architectural plans for Tokyo’s New National Stadium, which will be used in the 2020 Games.

2. SOUTH AFRICA

Just So many countries, South Africa’s tourism industry has been through the wringer of night-time. But though the world has taken a forced break, a new age group of genre-busting creatives have been eventful shining a light on the most assorted cultural community on the African continent.

Fairs, Biennales and new artist-run spaces are at the rudder of the country’s the enlivened art scene, with exciting local artists – as well as twin sisters Non-credo and Nonzuzo Gxekwa – receiving prime wall space at galleries such as the Maitland Institute and The Centre for the Less Decent Idea.

All-women music festivals, Soweto township theatre groups and a burgeoning holder coffee-shop scene in Maboneng draw the focus resolutely onto Johannesburg. In Jozi, pan-African dinner clubs such as Yeoville, run by chef Sanza Sandile, rub up alongside lively rooftop bars and the secret hole in the wall spots in the bohemian suburb of Melville.

That’s not to mention the procession of fresh hotels and gatehouses waiting to welcome international guests in 2021, which contains Kruger Shalati – an impressively smart cabin hotel stationed on a historical railway line – as well as And Beyond new extremely good-looking solar-powered Ngala Treehouse, rising overhead the predator-filled bush on the edges of Kruger National Park.

3. CHARLESTON, USA

This the city has its eccentric old-world image and evocative blackwater cypress swamps, Charleston has lengthy topped several must-visit lists.

The city is historic has a plentiful needed reckoning with its past

Nowadays is the time for the South Carolina city to confront its problematic history, shake off the genteel ‘southern charm’ façade and re-emerge as a place that carefully confronts its honest narrative.

As the North American slave trade’s capital, Charleston saw as many as 100,000 Africans. an appraised 40 per cent of the people captured and brought to the USA to be sold into slavery, enter through Gadsden’s Wharf. This is where the International African American Museum will sit when it opens in 2022, after more than two eras of planning and passionate fundraising. Pending then, an increasing number of eye-opening tours are shining a light on the city’s challenging past, as well as those run by the Mcleod Plantation, which emphasis on the quarters where enslaved people lived, rather than the grand home that went to the white owners, and Gullah Tours, which deliver an insight into the black history of Charleston (with the Gullah language spoken by the area’s first black residents used thru the route).

Black-owned businesses, numerous of which have beforehand been priced out of the city, is coming to the fore more than ever, else. Specially thanks to initiatives such as Black Food Fridays launched by local entrepreneur KJ Kearney, who has similarly created a map of black-owned restaurants in and around Charleston. Contained within are soul-food mainstay Hannibal’s Kitchen, which has been serving fried shark and sautéed crab over grits for decades; the upscale Savi Cucina in Mount Pleasant; and Nigel’s Good Food, known for its low country ravioli, baked turkey wings and gravy. The city is considering how best to rework its popular Wine and Food Festival (currently on pause), consulting with neighbourhood chefs to better tell the narrative of the area’s Gullah Geechee food traditions as well.

4. SHETLAND, SCOTLAND, UK

The widest range of archipelago makes its mark as a foodie hotspot

Moving in the whale-filled waters between the northern extremities of Scotland and the western ranges of Norway, the Shetland Islands might strike some as an amazing place for a food revolution. But the rich soil and pristine sea confirm a the cornucopia of natural essentials, drawing chefs and curious foodies to these far-off, sea-battered coasts.

The 16 occupied islands, which entirely closer to Bergen than Inverness, are smashed by waters that teem with mackerel, haddock, mussels, velvet shellfish and lobsters – a bounty that is properly hauled in and served up at Lerwick’s trendiest establishments. Alongside fluffy bannocks and Resit crabmeat soup, you’ll get pickled herring and plump scallops and medium-sized Scotch eggs at The Dowry. Distributed across the archipelago, resourceful residents are making the most of their own smallholdings too, growing before unavailable yields, vary from trophy-sized ears of sweetcorn to tomatoes and grapes, or rearing hearty heritage boars and vending the spoils to local chefs.

But it’s not all related to food. In 2021, the elemental isles will perform host to the UK’s more northerly folk festival (locals expect not to take rest for the period of the festivities). And 2021 is expected to be a successful year for citizen science, with many likely to take part in Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s beefed-up Coast watch scheme, which motivates locals and visitors to help observe at-risk species that includes the squadrons of the mammal-eating dolphin that patrol these northern waters in the summer season.

5. OAXACA CITY, MEXICO

The history-steeped city is more interesting than ever Oaxaca’s heritage pass by the lifeblood of the city, with everything from its food to its textiles steeped in custom. It’s no wonder, then, that cooks, artists and designers flock to its rainbow-hued roads to sample spices, finely made handiworks and lashings of mescal.

Earlier summer, cactus-and-white-stone minimalist Casa Criollo started on the same route as the much-lauded Enrique Olvera restaurant. Recently, Escondido Oaxaca, beloved Mexican branded Habitat, launched its modern design-target hotel with old-world-meeting modern-grandeur vibes such as quarry stones, ochre walls and heaps of terracotta. More afield, an hour south of Puerto Escondido in the fishing townlet of San Agustinillo, you’ll get Monte Uzulu – 11 boho rooms by designer Mariana Ruiz and other designers, with sun-slathered terraces and rooms including macuilí wood furniture, coloured cotton textiles and intricate basketwork handcrafted by local craftsperson.

The best way to polish off Oaxaca’s vivifying joys are with in-the-know guides – such as non-profitable EnVía, which offers journeys to visiting local artists who are part of its microloan programme, or Oaxacking, which cooks immersive and specially made food, drink and craft tours. And Oaxaca is also Mexico’s mezcal heartland – with settled -away bars filled with hundreds-strong libraries of the spirit and mezcaleros serving up innovative drink and ultra-small batch tasting flights – a new trend for corn liquor is also muscling in. Alcohols are buying up native corn from indigenous small-plot cultivating in the Central Valleys and turning it into a rich drink.

6. VIETNAM

Hot hotel openings abundant in the South-east Asian national park

In the coastal enclave of Bãi San Hô, overseeing a near-deserted sweep of shining sand, you’ll find the much waited for new property from forward-thinking Crazier Hotels. Leading a flurry of hot comings in Vietnam, this clutch of smart-but-unshowy stilted wooden home, located in Phú Yên, which is the country’s most biodiverse areas, observes a set to do what the group’s duo of Namibia stays did in 2018 and 2019 – open silently and draw in the cool mass quickly.

in 2021, Aspiring railway travel is also steaming into South-central Vietnam, with the launching of a boutique 12-seater bearing on a daily return route between Da Nang and Quy Nhon. The wood- and marble- strewn Vintage train has been started by high-end hotel group Anantara to attend guests riding between its luxury outposts in both cities. Sauntering across peaceful rice fields and winding along jagged coastlines that jut out as if they were broken teeth, the train will offer free-flowing wine with three-course supper and health spa treatments.

But as well as the country’s more bright offerings, community-based tourism is finding here too. In the Ngoc Son Ngo Luong nature reserve sometimes defined as Jurassic Park without the dinosaurs are local operators working alongside a Spanish NGO to bring in conservation funds and valuable good work for isolated Muong villagers. Since 2011 visitor numbers are increased by 45 per cent yearly and rates of illegal logging and thieving have decreased by 90 per cent

7. THE BERKSHIRES, USA

The Berkshires might not have the showy allure of the Hamptons, but this once a down-on-its-luck corner has been sluggishly reinventing itself, developing as an arty refuge for creatives from the tiring surrounding cities.

Once home to free-roaming bison and expansive untapped wilderness, the breezy Berkshires now lodging pockets of farmland, New England autumn foliage and picturesque towns to revitalize burnt-out weekenders.

Thundering across Massachusetts’ heaving western stretches, the mountainous region a the three-hour drive from New York and Boston is where modern culture encounters farm-to-table dining.

The former industrial cotton-mill city of North Adams is quickly settling into its new inventive identity. Home to a sparky food scene, cool new kind of places to visit and art founding such as Mass MoCA, it has plans for museums as well by Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel, a 110-room hotel, a craft distillery and a wave of unlimited new restaurants. In neighbouring Williamstown, you’ll discover The Clark Art Institute, where classic Renaissance pieces rub up against outré modern sculptures. One of the coolest places to visit in North Adams is Tourists, a mid-century motor cottage turned modern rustic-chic hotel, with a restaurant serving up the best food inspired by Native American, Welsh, Italian and Lebanese cultures.

8. EAST AND WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND, UK

In Brighton, the latest waterfront Soho House looks set to unlock its doors on Madeira Place, even though exact dates are yet to be confirmed while Ocean Lanes, the UK’s first national open water swim centre of excellence will transform the former Peter Pan site on Madeira Drive in spring 2021.

In West Sussex, classy Ashling Park will open luxury hotels made with natural and best quality materials including wood from the South Downs National Park and a helipad amid its award-winning sparkling-wine vineyards.

similarly, the newest outpost of the nooks-and-cooks Pig hotels the eighth in the litter will launch, whole with its own vines, in the South Downs in summer 2021.

From the rippling knolls of the remote South Downs to the stone of cobble streets of storied Rye, these two delightful Sussex counties glint with the kind of the natural beauty that delivers an endless cache of serenity and soul-soaring sea sights. Nevertheless now, a raft of new openings and developments are making this pretty part of the UK an even larger draw.

Elsewhere that, milestone creative project Waterfronts will herald a new way to experience the rousing coastline between the South Downs and the Thames Estuary. The big-budget teamwork between England’s Creative Coast and a few of the region’s furthermost exciting galleries will see seven site-specific art commissions explore the borders between land and water.

9. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, CARIBBEAN

The Dominican Republic might be well-known for the bombastic resorts that line Punta Cana on its eastern tip, nevertheless aspect again and there's another slower, quieter side. Our courtesy was already resentful when Playa Grande Beach Club opened its shell-dotted doors five years ago, strictly followed by the Amanera, which includes the healing traditions of the region’s indigenous Taíno people in its wellness rituals, similarly northern shore.

newly in the capital, wabi-sabi stay Fixie Lofts arrived in 2020. 'When we first visited the historic region three years ago, we detected there was a change ongoing, like the change we'd seen in Cartagena and Panama City,' says co-owner José Luis Mejias. The husband-and-wife team delicately well-maintained the crumbling building, enlisting local craftspeople to weave rattan chairs for the laidback lounge and cast 90 terracotta pots for the garden of the cactus combined with the courtyard pool. It's just the somewhat ingeniously minded, locally rooted plan that's part of a sea change in the Caribbean at once.

10. HELSINKI, FINLAND

In 2018, the city worked more than 99 million euros into its arts and culture modification, strengthening an already meaty offering of museums, concert sites and galleries. Overlook the excellent architecture and excellent waterside dining spots, if there’s one thing Helsinki has in spades, it's steely-eyed focus. The result is actually a world-class cultural city great enough to rival Copenhagen and Stockholm – filled with genre-busting plan spots and fringed by Baltic archipelagos which leave a gratifyingly salty taste in the air.

The newest art museum Amos Rex – pooling like molten silver below the functionalist Lasipalatsi – is a place where art and urban culture combine; while the long-standing Kiasma contemporary art wing of the Finnish National Gallery (once considered inelegant, now alluring) hosts cutting-edge exhibitions, showcasing the work of Finnish, Nordic and international artists. As part of the further 10-year plan, the coal-fired Hanasaari B power plant will be transformed into a large-scale cultural hub in 2024 (we’re getting Tate Modern vibes), attracting some of the world’s most exciting artists.

Elsewhere, there are bracing sea pools on the far reaches of the South Harbour (summer concerts are staged behind the pavilion) and a raft of alternative, outdoor museums, including the forest-filled island of Seurasaari, in Helsinki’s inner archipelago. Traditional celebrations are rolled out here come Midsummer and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Suomenlinna sea fortress shoulders cafés, restaurants and a brilliant little microbrewery.

11. AMAZON RAINFOREST

With its water-logged woodlands and riverways coiling for example fat anacondas, the Amazon which stretches across much of north-western Brazil and extends into Peru, Colombia and other parts of South America – has been described as the lungs of the earth. It signifies the single largest remaining tropical rainforest in the whole world and is home to at least 10 per cent of the planet’s known animal and herbal species. Nevertheless rampant fires, logging, deforestation and gold-mining still pose apparently unrelenting threats to this vital natural environment.

Each and every felled tree and forest fire affect the groups who call this place home and while it might seem an understandable response to stay away, studies have shown that, when done well, eco-tourism is the most gainful long-term strategy for giving supportable employment for locals and protecting the jungle and its fantastical flora and fauna.

A venture here means bedding down on local houseboats, dew-soaked forest, camping in the tangled, and visiting community schools and indigenous villages. That’s not to mention the huge amount of wildlife to be spotted, from rare pink dolphins to jaguars and chattering spider monkeys swooping through the tree canopy. Eco-lodges abound in the tropical rain forest and new offerings for 2021 consist of Aqua Nera, the river-cruise outfit’s latest boat, which will glide along the piranha-filled Peruvian Amazon. Visit during the wet season (February to May), when watercourse navigation is easier and you’ll find the riverbanks famous with migratory birds, while mating season carries the surrounding greenery alive with a cacophony of engagement sounds.

12. THE KIMBERLEY, AUSTRALIA

Truthfully The Place, Australia has taken a battering in 2020. With lodges, hotels and campsites poised to reopen later than some of the worst wildfires in modern history; the whole country was forced to retreat into strict lockdown condition when the coronavirus pandemic struck. Nevertheless with destiny, a Herculean effort and the support of visitors who are aching for its inimitable landscapes, 2021 should see the country emerge stronger than ever.

Clinging to the far north-western reaches of Australia, the Kimberley is a sparingly settled city where the dust shines blood-red and aquamarine seas are teeming with saltwater crocodiles and sharks. Huge landscapes build this one of the most enticing exciting activity spots for 2021 – the region is approximately three times the size of England, with fewer people per square metre than almost any kind of place on earth. Whether you’re here-hiking to uncover antique rock art, driving all along the winding Gibb River Road or being pummelled by the waters of the strong Horizontal Falls, marvel at the fact that these rousing landscapes have been well-trodden by Australia’s First Peoples for tens of thousands of years.

After a time of year’s break, the revitalized remote-luxe outpost of El Questro Homestead will be reopening in 2021, while Western Australia’s ongoing Camping with Custodians project sees Aboriginal communities operate art galleries, campgrounds and guided travel on their own land. in another place, the Dampier Peninsula – an isolated triangle of pandan piercing the Indian sea – offers a glut of go-slow campsites, including Kooljaman at Cape Leveque, an indigenous-owned spot perched atop crimson cliffs that jut into the Indian Ocean. An uneven lurch south on unsealed roads gets you to Broome, an old pearling hub turned hip beach town. at this time, the new Moontide Distillery makes the most of the monsoon rains that thunder down like cannon fire for the period of the wet season, also as local botanicals and its wonder ingredient, the binge fruit. At nearby Gantheaume Point, you’ll find rare snub-fin dolphins in the waves and a smattering of 130-million-year-old dinosaur footprints sealed in the amber-reef rock. And between March and early November, The Staircase to the Moon is an astonishing sight: the natural phenomenon occurs when the gleaming the full moon casts a laddered pattern on the rippling sludge flats of Roebuck cove.

13. COSTA RICA

With belching volcanoes, foggy cloud forests and surf-pummelled seashores, Costa Rica is at the cutting edge when it comes to sustainable tourism. A long-lasting focus on chalets with feather-light footprints and a burly commitment to sincerely effectual eco-initiatives make the Central American country one thing above all: green.

Located among the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, the country is home to more than six per cent of the world’s biodiversity (that’s more than the USA and Europe combined). It makes more or less 99 per cent of its electricity from renewable things and resources to grow to be one of the first countries to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 too. It is so unswervingly green, actually, that it has been known by the Global Justifiable sightseeing Council for its muscular conservation attempts.

There are satisfactory of chances to go the well-trodden track here. choose your way over the forests of the far-off Osa Peninsula, where tapirs moan together with red-eyed tree frogs, armadillos and kinkajous; or visit the Guatuso Indigenous Reserve in the north, home to the country’s least tribe of indigenous people, the Maleku. Hammerheads, white-tips and bull sharks can be spotted in the surrounding seas, or you can kayak the sultry mangroves, binoculars in hand, looking for wily caimans and sleepy sloths in the low-hanging branches. The people have developed hikes, travel around and sunset theatre producers to share with tourists, and will blissfully guide guests through their land, sharing knowledge of medicinal plants and native wildlife, as of bright-billed toucans to rambunctious monkeys.

14. EGADI ISLANDS, SICILY

The surreptitious sunken shipwreck and butter-sand shores ruins of the Egadi archipelago are humming with the kind of quiet buzz that encloses something special. In-the-know travellers previously drawn to Sicily’s sun-splashed The Aeolian Islands are seemed further afield to fuel their lust for reasonable, go-slow spots that other travellers haven’t reached. Flung off the western the coast of Sicily, a short hydrofoil ride from Trapani, the Egadi archipelago is formed by the islands of Levanzo, Favignana and Marettimo and the rocky islands of Formica and Marrone.

Levanzo is the least amount of and possibly the most exquisite of the three main islands, with a clutter of whitewashed homes clustered around the port like wonky teeth. Here, scuba devotees can dive into the atmospheric remains of a Roman shipwreck scattered with amphorae and shards of black glazed pottery.

The butterfly-shaped Favignana is the largest island in five islands, proposes tussock-flecked mountains and photogenic bamboo-framed daybeds on the beach. Roads are bikeable and foliage-fringed and the island is home to the Stabilimento Florio as well, a former tonnara, or tuna fishery and factory, which are at the present fishing and maritime museum.

Marettimo, deemed by some to be the very old native soil of Odysseus, is a hiker’s dream, and trails will take you past Norman castles and Byzantine churches. Climb up to Pizzo Falcone, at a majestic 2,300 feet above sea level the island’s highest point, for air dusted with the scent of fragrant plants and the view of peregrine falcons circling overhead.

There is no wildlife here. The isles represent the largest Marine sheltered Area in Europe and the seabed is home to huge, submerged prairies of Poseidon seagrass – given that a precious reproductive habitat for many fish and migratory seabirds, in addition to coffee-table-sized Caretta Caretta sea turtles and rare monk seals.

15. SIARGAO, PHILIPPINES

Siargao is a beautiful city where always something special is happening. The teardrop-shaped tropical island in the hardly ever trod south-east of The Philippines is luring squads of right-on sorts to its coasts, with its gnarly surf breaks, as well as the legendary Cloud 9 barreling wave, which counts Kelly Slater and Anthony Kiedis amongst its riders.

Siargao is fringed with immaculate beaches, sweeping groves of coconut palms, tree frog-green mangrove forests and its little wonder sightseeing here is a crowd pace. Less than a tenth of the size of Bali, the island feels the way the Indonesian hotspot did three eras ago: scooters with surfboard racks ferry persons about the streets, farmers sell rice – dried on tarpaulins and convenience stores pour petrol from glass Coca Cola bottles next to the main road – at the local market.

certainly after the surfers come to the eco-entrepreneurs, and Siargao is warm welcoming a slow glug of new independent lodges and small kind of businesses to its bone-white beachy shores. 2019 saw the likes of Bulan Villas in the lively centre of General Luna, and the refreshingly stripped-back home lives at the two-unit Kubo join the exquisite Nay Palad Hideaway and the sustainability-conscious Harana Surf Resort as the island’s most appealing accommodation aid.

16. GALWAY, IRELAND

Ireland’s sparkling west-coast city will throw its arms open wide to the world as it becomes the 2020 European Capital of customs. With its excess of traditional pubs spilling out jaunty bodhrán and fiddle music, the bohemian city has spent 2019 testing new community tradition and arts projects, for example, pop-up culture cafés and funambulism (tightrope-walking) workshops. But the most excellent is thus far to come in 2020, with some terrific events being rolled out transversely Galway’s hubs pubs and beaches, as well as new artworks by David Best and a series of intimate readings of Homer’s Odyssey on Galway’s blustery shores. Margaret Atwood will also take part in the city’s International Women’s Day celebrations in March.

Galway’s title as a 2018 European Region of Gastronomy has previously paved it as a fizzing foodie hub. The brilliantly beardy JP McMahon is Galway’s most high-profile chef, earning the city its first Michelin star in 2012. He’s also the man at the back of the annual Food on the Edge symposium to travel around the future of food next taking place in late October 2019 which creates big names, for instance, Nathan Outlaw and Skye Gyngell. The ambitiously modern Loam has joined McMahon’s 24-cover Aniar as one of only two Michelin-starred joints in the city, but it’s what’s happening away from the notebooks of the Michelin inspectors that’s most exciting. Galway is home to the world’s longest-running oyster festival (65 years of shucking so far), which also sees the World Oyster Opening Championships whip up competitive fervour among shellfish enthusiasts. You’ll find local Dooncastle and Flaggy Shore oysters (as well as natural wines and exquisite seaweed shortbread) served up at McMahon’s latest terroir-based opening, Tartare. And in close by Burren, an hour away from the city, a raft of local makers are actually bolstering Galway’s gourmet credentials, with a spotlighting on fish-smoking, cheese-making and small-batch brewing (and look out for Burren wildflower honey at Galway’s Saturday market, as well).

17. SALVADOR, BRAZIL

The Amazon fires prepared headlines across the whole world in 2019, glowing on deforestation, indefensible logging and taking out in one of the planet’s most threatened ecological regions. But in place of the foregoing tour to these areas, experts argue we should be sustaining them more than ever. Thus don’t write off Brazil just up till now. As we know according to study about it have found that eco-tourism, when done fine, is the most gainful use of land in the long term, providing sustainable service for local people, protecting the incredible biodiversity of the region and warding off a takeover by polluting big business. ‘A Tour to the Amazon forest builds the case for protecting the tropical forest for responsible sightseeing versus logging mining and deforestation,’ says Justin Francis, CEO of lobbying tour operator Responsible Travel.

There are Art Deco gems to be found in Salvador, too. Early 2019 saw the advent of the Fasano hotel chain, which has added its polish to the building that residences the headquarters of the A Tarde newspaper for 45 years. For reasonably priced architectural appreciation, ride the Deco-styled Elevador Lacerda public lift, which connects the Cidade Alta (upper city) to the Cidade Baixa (lower city) and is the best way to take up spectacular sights.

18. YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK

Also being a (rather large) land of brooding moors and changeable coastlines, Yorkshire has long been an important arty enclave, with its famous sculpture triangle and a long love concern with birthright artists such as Henry Moore, David Hockney and Barbara Hepworth. But further, than the well-known names, real people's arts resurgence is underway in God’s Own County. Crumbling old mill sites, converted churches and arboretums are being renewed, repurposed and filled with artisanal shops, studios and eating places. Holmbridge Mill – a redeveloped textile mill in attractive Holmfirth – is developing a new studio space for lease to local sculptors, artist and illustrators.

But it’s the extremely predictable, who knows when it will happen, growth of Bretton Hall at Yorkshire Sculpture Park that has everybody in a tizzy. Supervised by art juggernauts Hauser & Wirth, the hotel plan will add to their pioneering galleries in Hong Kong, London, New York, and Somerset and beyond. If the sumptuous painting and crafts vibe of the dazzling Fife Arms in Braemar is anything to go by, this is sure to put Yorkshire on the international map.

artistic takeovers are also planned for Left Bank Leeds, a lofty-ceilinged transformed Grade II-listed church and London-based gallerist Johnny Messum recently set up a new outpost in Harrogate, while Leeds’ multi-million bid for an international cultural festival in 2023 means focus is firmly set on the county’s ever-evolving artistic credentials.

19. Lopez Island, Washington

Chilled saltwater splashing onto the rock-strewn shores and the infrequent moo of the local farm animals seem to disrupt the peaceful calm of Lopez Island. Idyllic almost to the point of absurdity, the pace of life on these 30 acres in Puget Sound appeals to those who find serenity in the scenic route. Midnight’s Farm encapsulates the Lopez ethos, selling rotationally grazed grass-fed beef from little more than a cash box nailed to the side of a lean-to, hosting yoga classes in an on-site studio, and renting out the homey field house for the farm resides.

20. CHANIA, CRETE, GREECE

While its Ottoman-control harbour and spaghetti bowl of cobble-stoned streets are delicately beautiful, Chania is packing an actual punch when it comes to its food. From easy seaside cafés to exquisite Cretan fine dining, this great city on the north-west shore of the Greek island has a choice but rapidly expanding the scene that’s luring in specialist palates.

In the very Old Town, Gingery Concept of eating can appear a little affected but is a must-try deep-fried coxinhas and the lemon artichoke pizzas are to die for. in a different place, no-frills locals’ favourites consist of Maridaki for fish soup and Oxo Nou Studio, a little mark with wobbly outdoor tables overlooking the water. A little further out of town, impeccable fish restaurant Sunset at Safari beach calls for a well-worth-it coastal drive, while the concealed eco-retreat of Milia can be found far up in the mountains, serving farm-to-table Cretan cooking with overwhelming views. In Pollirinia – where languorous cats slip throughout the shades like liquid – the Acropolis taverna is a magical little shack serving soul-warming home cooking beside the ruins of an old Roman town.

Hot new sights to stay comprise The Tanneries, on the waterfront in historic Halepa – where 19th-century leather makers scoured their hides in saltwater – and the most recently launched Elafonisi Villas, overlooking the islet’s cream and candy-floss beaches.

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