City Guides
Routes, articles, and curated lists to help you discover amazing places.
Routebologna
Santo Stefano Basilica, Medieval Palazzi & Bologna After Dark
The Piazza Santo Stefano and the surrounding medieval quarter of Bologna — the most atmospheric corner of the city — at night transforms into the heart of the Bologna social life: the aperitivo hour ('aperitivo bolognese' — the pre-dinner drink culture of Bologna, the city's most convivial social ritual), the restaurants and the 'osterie' of the historic centre filling as the university students and the city residents settle in for the long Bolognese evening.
#santo-stefano#medieval#aperitivo
RouteCorfu
Corfu South: Kanoni Mouse Island Photo, Aircraft Landing Over the Sea, Kayaking the Coast, and Moraitika Southern Beaches
The south Corfu experience covers the Kanoni Mouse Island photography spot, the aircraft landing over the sea approach, the coastal kayaking route, and the Moraitika resort beach circuit.
#nature#adventure#beach
Routebeijing
Hutong & Siheyuan — Old Beijing's Courtyard City
The hutong (胡同 — the narrow alleyways of old Beijing, originally laid out in a grid during the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) when Kublai Khan's city planner Liu Bingzhong designed the capital Dadu) and the siheyuan (四合院 — the enclosed courtyard house with buildings on all four sides of a central courtyard, the standard form of residential architecture in Beijing for 700 years) together form the historic urban fabric of pre-1949 Beijing, now surviving mainly in the Dongcheng and Xicheng districts.
#hutong#siheyuan#courtyard-house
Routeseoul
Bukhansan National Park — Granite Peaks & the Seoul City Fortress Walls
Bukhansan National Park (북한산국립공원, 'north of the Han Mountain National Park' — the 80-square-kilometre national park in the northern outskirts of Seoul, encompassing the Bukhansan massif (the highest peak Baegundae 836 metres) and the Dobongsan massif (Jaunbong 740 metres) — is the most visited national park in the world per unit area, with over 5 million visitors annually accessing it directly from Seoul's subway system.
#bukhansan#hiking#national-park
RouteRiyadh
Riyadh Essentials: The Fortress That Founded a Kingdom, Norman Foster's Tower & Vision 2030
Discover Saudi Arabia's capital in transformation—the 1902 fortress gate where Ibn Saud's spear tip is still embedded from the raid that began the Saudi kingdom, Norman Foster's first skyscraper opening Riyadh to the modern skyline, the National Museum covering pre-Islamic Arabian civilisations, and a city where cinemas were banned until 2018 and now Riyadh Season hosts the world's largest annual entertainment festival.
#history#culture#architecture
RouteValletta
Malta Practical Guide: Flights, Buses & Staying Smart
Everything for a smooth Malta visit—cheap flights from across Europe, Renzo Piano's dramatic city gate, €2 buses to every corner of the island, practical accommodation in Sliema with the Valletta ferry at your doorstep, and why spring and autumn are far better than peak summer.
#practical#transport#tips
RoutePorto Alegre
Serra Gaucha Highlights: Gramado Christmas, Bento Goncalves Harvest, Canela Waterfall, and Pelotas Candy
The Serra Gaucha highland destinations accessible from Porto Alegre offer the most spectacular Christmas light festival in Brazil at Gramado, the wine harvest season at Bento Gonçalves, the Caracol waterfall adventures of Canela, and the extraordinary candy-making heritage of Pelotas.
#culture#food
RouteVaranasi
Varanasi Complete: Cremation-Ash Holi, the House Where People Go to Die & the Ashoka Lion Capital at Sarnath
Complete the Varanasi picture—23,000 temples including the Mother India Temple where a marble map of undivided India is the deity, buying Banarasi silk without getting sold a power-loom fake (the real zari burns white ash, the fake turns black), Masaan Holi where Aghori ascetics throw cremation ash from Manikarnika's fires, the Mukti Bhawan guesthouse that accepts only those who come to die with a 15-day maximum stay, the Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Tibetan monasteries circling Sarnath's Dhamek Stupa, and the scam-navigation guide to Varanasi's boats, guides, and silk shops.
#religion#culture#shopping
RouteAntigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala: Colonial Baroque, Volcano Views, and the UNESCO Historic Core
Antigua Guatemala, the former capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala during Spanish colonial rule, is one of the best-preserved colonial cities in the Americas. The grid of ochre and yellow baroque churches, convents, and mansions is set against the dramatic backdrop of three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Fuego is active, emitting ash and occasional lava flows visible from the city. The ruins of buildings destroyed by the 1773 Santa Marta earthquake give Antigua a distinctive character of splendor and ruin coexisting within a single city block. This route covers the foundational layer of the UNESCO World Heritage city.
#history#culture#architecture
RouteValparaiso
Valparaiso Practical Guide: Getting There, Navigation, and the Santiago Day Trip Option
Valparaiso is 120 kilometers from Santiago and is accessible by a 90-minute bus journey, making it one of the most popular day trips from the Chilean capital as well as an independent destination for those who want to spend time in the port city.
#practical
Routedelhi
India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan & Lutyens' New Delhi
Lutyens' New Delhi (the planned colonial capital city designed by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, built 1911-1931 as the new capital of British India, replacing Calcutta) — centred on the 3-kilometre ceremonial axis from India Gate (the war memorial arch) to Rashtrapati Bhavan (the Presidential Palace) via Kartavya Path (formerly Rajpath) — is one of the great examples of 20th-century imperial urban planning, the architectural expression of British imperial power in India at its peak.
#india-gate#rashtrapati-bhavan#lutyens-delhi
RouteBeirut
Khalil Gibran's The Prophet Has Sold Over 100 Million Copies in 108 Languages Making It the Third Best-Selling Book of the 20th Century After the Bible and the Quran; the Kahan Commission Found Ariel Sharon Bore Personal Responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila Massacre of 762-3,500 Palestinian Civilians; Fairuz Has Been Recording for 70 Years and Is the Best-Selling Arabic-Language Artist of All Time
Khalil Gibran's The Prophet (1923) with 100 million copies sold in 108 languages (third best-selling 20th-century book after Bible and Quran); the Israeli Kahan Commission finding Ariel Sharon bore personal responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila massacre (762-3,500 civilians killed September 16-18, 1982); Fairuz recording for 70 years as the best-selling Arabic-language artist; the Sursock Museum stained glass destroyed by the 2020 explosion; Nadine Labaki's Capernaum receiving a Cannes Jury Prize and Oscar nomination; and the Beirut photography guide with ethical considerations.
#culture#art#history
Routesan-francisco
Haight-Ashbury, Golden Gate Park & the 1960s Counterculture Legacy
The Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood — the Victorian residential district west of Buena Vista Park that became the epicentre of the 1967 Summer of Love and the psychedelic counterculture movement, and that today preserves more of the visual and commercial character of that era than any other neighbourhood in San Francisco — and the adjacent Golden Gate Park (the 3 miles by half-mile rectangular park that constitutes San Francisco's largest green space) are the twin anchors of western San Francisco's cultural and recreational landscape.
#haight-ashbury#golden-gate-park#counterculture
RouteCannes
Cannes Film Festival, Glamour & Riviera Nightlife
Go behind the scenes of the world's most glamorous film festival, understand Cannes's year-round conference economy, discover the Belle Époque villas of La Californie where Picasso once painted, and experience the Riviera nightlife from casino to yacht bar.
#glamour#film#nightlife
Routelisbon
Alfama & São Jorge Castle: Lisbon's Moorish Heart
Alfama — from the Arabic al-hamma, 'the baths' — is the oldest surviving neighborhood of Lisbon, the only district that pre-dates the catastrophic 1755 earthquake that destroyed most of the city. Draped across a hillside above the Tagus beneath the Moorish castle of São Jorge, its labyrinth of steep lanes, tiled houses, miradouros (viewpoints), and fado bars represents the soul of the city as it existed before the rational Pombaline grid changed everything below. To walk Alfama is to navigate a living memory.
#alfama#sao-jorge-castle#fado
RouteRhodes
Rhodes Final Circuit: Symi Island Day Trip, Charaki Fishing Village, Archangelos Largest Village, Saint Fanourios Monastery, Koskinou Traditional Houses, and Rhodes Farewell
The Rhodes final day circuit covers the Symi island day excursion from Mandraki, the Charaki fishing village beneath the Feraklos castle, the Archangelos village pottery and boots tradition, the Saint Fanourios patron of lost things monastery in the Old Town, the Koskinou traditional painted houses, and the departure summary.
#island#culture#nature
RouteBratislava
Bratislava Essentials: Habsburg Capital, Coronation Cathedral & the UFO Bridge
Discover the underrated Danube capital—the 'inverted table' castle where Maria Theresa governed the Habsburg empire, the Gothic cathedral where 11 monarchs were crowned, Napoleon's 1805 peace treaty signed in the Primatial Palace, the communist UFO Bridge that demolished the Jewish quarter, and the Iron Curtain confluence at ruined Devín Castle.
#history#culture#architecture
Routedallas
Dallas: Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (JFK assassination 22 November 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald, Warren Commission, Grassy Knoll), Deep Ellum Arts and Texas Blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson, Pecan Lodge BBQ, street murals), Dallas Arts District (DMA 24000 works, Nasher Sculpture Center Renzo Piano, Meyerson Symphony I.M. Pei), Dallas Cowboys Americas Team (USD 9B franchise, AT&T Stadium retractable roof, Texas Friday Night Lights), and Dallas Food Scene (Texas BBQ brisket, Pecan Lodge, Tex-Mex, Dallas Farmers Market)
Dallas highlights: Big D overview (largest US metro without natural harbor or navigable river, Fortune 500 headquarters concentration, no state income tax corporate migration), Sixth Floor Museum (JFK assassination 22 November 1963, Oswald sniper perch preserved, Jack Ruby shooting, Warren Commission, conspiracy theories), Deep Ellum Texas blues birthplace (Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lead Belly, Pecan Lodge brisket, street murals, Trees venue), Dallas Arts District (DMA, Nasher Sculpture Center Renzo Piano, Morton H. Meyerson I.M. Pei acoustics, Crow Museum Asian art), Dallas Cowboys (most valuable sports franchise in world USD 9-10B, Americas Team, 5 Super Bowls, Jerry Jones, AT&T Stadium), and Dallas food (Texas BBQ brisket, Pecan Lodge Deep Ellum, Dallas Farmers Market).
#history#culture
RouteFortaleza
Fortaleza Practical Guide: Getting There, When to Visit, Neighborhoods, and Coastal Transport
The practical information for visiting Fortaleza covers the flight connections to the northeast hub airport, the seasonal choice between kite surfing and lagoon swimming, the beach neighborhood accommodation options, and the logistics of reaching the coastal villages by bus and 4x4.
#practical
Routestockholm
Södermalm — Stockholm's Creative Quarter, Fotografiska & City Hall
Södermalm ('Southern Island' — the large island south of Gamla Stan, the most creative and culturally vital neighbourhood in Stockholm, known for its vintage shops, independent cafes, design studios, and the Fotografiska (one of the world's most important photography museums), and for the Monteliusvägen cliff walk with its unbeatable panoramic view north over the water to the City Hall and Gamla Stan.
#sodermalm#hipster#design
Routecopenhagen
Nyhavn, Old Town & Christiansborg — Copenhagen's Historic Heart
Copenhagen (København — the capital and largest city of Denmark, population approximately 800,000 in the city proper (1.3 million in the wider metropolitan area), situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand across the Øresund strait from Malmö, Sweden) has a historic centre built around the medieval city and the 17th-century royal harbour: Nyhavn (the painted-facade canal), Strøget (the pedestrian shopping street), Christiansborg Palace (the seat of government), and the Rosenborg Castle form the defining monuments of a city consistently ranked as one of the best in the world for quality of life.
#nyhavn#old-town#christiansborg
RouteStrasbourg
Strasbourg Classics: Cathedral, Petite France & Grande Île
Explore the UNESCO heart of Strasbourg—climb the Gothic cathedral's 142-metre spire, wander the flower-decked canals of La Petite France, watch the astronomical clock perform, and discover why this perfectly preserved island city was the world's first UNESCO-listed city centre.
#UNESCO#culture#history
Routeflorence
Santa Maria Novella, Via Tornabuoni & Ghirlandaio's Florence
The western quarter of Florence's historic centre, focused on the Dominican basilica of Santa Maria Novella and the luxury shopping street of Via Tornabuoni, represents a distinct layer of Florentine culture — the Church that contains Masaccio's 'Trinity' (the first painting using true linear perspective), Ghirlandaio's cycle of Florentine society portraits in the Tornabuoni Chapel, and the aristocratic urban fabric of the Palazzo Strozzi and the Via de' Tornabuoni banking district.
#santa-maria-novella#ghirlandaio#tornabuoni
RouteNikkō
The 1,200-Person Spring Procession Recreating 1617, the Blue-Grey Ice Wall at Kegon Falls in February & the Daikoku Hall Where Matte Black Beats Gold and Red
The Tōshō-gū's political theology as the first non-imperial deification in Japanese state religion and the spring Hyakumonjo procession of 1,200 costumed participants; the frozen Kegon Falls ice formation building through January into February and the foggy Nikkō cedar forest at dawn; the Shin-kyō bridge's serpent founding legend and the ¥300 crossing fee charged since the Edo period when only the shogun could cross; the Rinnō-ji Sanbutsudō's 8-metre gilt statues in an enclosed space that amplifies their scale beyond the Nara Great Buddha; Edo Wonderland's ninja shows and oiran costume rentals; and Eleanor Roosevelt and Einstein in the Kanaya Hotel Victorian dining room.
#history#culture#winter