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Best places to visit in new york state in 2024.

New York state captivates both domestic and international travelers with the most populated city in the United States, sprawling state parks and a few beach communities. Whether you want to visit New York City to see Times Square and go ice skating at Rockefeller Center, or retreat to the mountains of upstate New York, there are plenty of one-of-a-kind vacation spots in the Empire State. U.S. News considered sights, culture, adventurous pursuits and the opinions of experts and readers to compile this ranking of the best places to visit in New York state. Read on for vacation inspiration, and don't forget to vote below for the destinations you think belong on this list.

Niagara Falls

Adirondacks, new york city, the finger lakes, thousand islands, lake george, bear mountain state park, the catskills, sleepy hollow, letchworth state park, long island, fire island, saratoga springs, cooperstown.

The tumbling, frothy falls – more than 3,100 tons of water flows over the edge every second – are the star tourist attraction in this New York destination that borders Canada. The best way to see Niagara Falls is on a Maid of the Mist boat tour, which takes poncho-clad visitors on an electric tour boat to the base of the falls. Or, more daring visitors can experience this natural wonder on a thrilling whirlpool jet boat tour. Just don't forget to check out the area's other unforgettable attractions, such as Niagara Falls State Park's hiking trails, Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens & Butterfly Conservatory or the nearby casinos.

The Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York span roughly 6 million acres and are home to hundreds of communities, lakes, valleys and trails. Water lovers can canoe or kayak on Saranac Lake or go boating on Tupper Lake; hikers can tackle the area's 2,000-plus miles of trails; and skiers can shred powder on Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid. Visitors will also want to save some time for checking out history-focused sights like the Lake Placid Olympic Museum and Fort Ticonderoga, as well as sampling regional beverages at local wineries and breweries.

A hub for culture, the arts, food and sightseeing, New York City is a must-visit on many travelers' bucket lists – and for good reason. Everyone can find something to enjoy in the Big Apple. You can see a Broadway show, visit the world-famous Empire State Building, walk the High Line, check out the dozens of museums, eat your way through Manhattan's distinct neighborhoods on a food tour or shop till you drop along Fifth Avenue. Don't forget to stroll through iconic Central Park and visit its can't-miss attractions, including the Central Park Zoo and Conservatory Garden.

A romantic New York getaway , the Finger Lakes region appeals to travelers seeking a relaxing retreat with lovely scenery. Skiing at the area's resorts, wine tasting at the Seneca Lake Wine Trail's wineries and boating and hiking at local state parks are all popular activities to enjoy in this part of northwestern New York. The Finger Lakes are known for their spectacular fall foliage, but with their wealth of charming towns and variety of seasonal attractions, the lakes are excellent to visit year-round.

Despite its name, the Thousand Islands region is composed of more than 1,800 islands. The best way to see this vast area, which also stretches into Canada, is during an open-air boat tour. A scenic cruise here will take you past lighthouses, mansions and castles and include commentary about the real-life pirates who used to roam the islands' waters and the Gilded Age magnates who once called the region home. When you're ready to return to land, hike the trails in Wellesley Island State Park or fish in Mary Island State Park, both on Wellesley Island.

Home to "The Queen of American Lakes," this town in New York's vast Adirondack mountain region is a vacation destination unto itself. Swim in Lake George's crystal-clear waters at Million Dollar Beach, or try your hand at aquatic activities like parasailing, water skiing, kayaking and more. Away from the lake, history buffs can brush up on their knowledge of the French and Indian War at the Fort William Henry Museum while adventurous travelers hike to the summit of Prospect Mountain for breathtaking vistas. Families will also appreciate the region's countless amusement parks and mini-golf courses.

Located on the western banks of the Hudson River in the Palisades region of New York, Bear Mountain State Park offers sweeping views of the Hudson Valley and the surrounding highlands. The forested park's trails (including a stretch of the Appalachian Trail) take hikers through lakes, gorges and valleys. What's more, Bear Mountain State Park features a zoo, a swimming pool, a hand-painted merry-go-round and a seasonal outdoor ice skating rink, ensuring family fun both on and off the trails. (Note: Portions of this park are still closed due to storm damage sustained in July 2023. Please check the park's website for the current operating status.)

With 98 peaks, southeastern New York's Catskill Mountains beckon to nature enthusiasts. About 40% of Catskill Park's 700,000-plus acres are designated as "forever wild," meaning you'll have access to sprawling spaces ideal for outdoor activities. In winter, the Catskills offer ample opportunities to ski and snowboard. Meanwhile, summer is perfect for hunting, hiking, boating and zip lining, among other activities. After a busy day outdoors, you can check out the region's art scene (the Catskills were home to America's first art movement – the Hudson River School) or enjoy the amenities at one of the area's top resorts .

Made famous by author Washington Irving in his 1820 short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," this small town about 30 miles north of New York City is a must-visit on any Hudson Valley itinerary. Begin with a trip to Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate, before heading to nearby Tarrytown to explore the grand Lyndhurst Mansion. In the evening, stroll through the famed Sleepy Hollow Cemetery on a lantern-lit guided tour. Keep in mind that this town becomes inundated with travelers around Halloween, so book your accommodations early if you are planning on visiting during the fall.

Nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the East because of its impressive gorge, Letchworth State Park is a hidden gem for travelers who love the outdoors. The park is home to three large waterfalls and dozens more on tributaries, many of which you can see as you trek some of Letchworth's 66 miles of hiking trails. Additionally, the park offers ample opportunities to go whitewater rafting, kayaking, horseback riding, biking and even hot air ballooning. If you prefer winter sports instead of summer pursuits, arrive when temperatures fall to go cross-country skiing or snowmobiling.

This 118-mile-long island is frequented by New Yorkers looking to escape the city to relax on white sand beaches with a glass of wine. Summer hot spots like the Hamptons and Montauk boast charming seaside allure and can't-miss stretches of sand, like Ditch Plains Beach, a popular place to surf. Meanwhile, family-friendly Jones Beach State Park is a more approachable option with a swimming pool, a mini-golf course and shuffleboard areas, among other amenities. Beyond beaches, Long Island boasts more than 50 wineries and tasting rooms, some of which are part of the island's North Fork Wine Trail.

Those looking to get away from skyscrapers can travel about 60 miles southeast of New York City to reach this 32-mile-long, car-free barrier island. On Fire Island, you'll find several charming communities, including Ocean Beach (where most of the island's hotels, restaurants and shops are located) and Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines (two of the island's top LGBTQ-friendly areas). Plus, Fire Island is home to Fire Island National Seashore, a protected area that welcomes bird-watchers and campers in droves. If you'd rather spend your vacation swimming, surfing or sunbathing, head to Robert Moses State Park in summer to enjoy its beautiful beaches.

Ever since the Mohawk people came to Saratoga Springs and discovered its mineral waters, which were believed to have restorative properties, the town has blossomed into a popular vacation destination. Visitors can still drink from or soak in the town's mineral springs, 12 of which are located in Saratoga Spa State Park. However, many travelers now flock to Saratoga Springs to see one of the country's oldest racetracks, the Saratoga Race Course. Take a walking tour of the facility to learn more about its history and horseracing, or visit in August to attend the venue's premier event, the Travers Stakes.

The presence of two renowned institutions – Ithaca College and Cornell University – makes Ithaca a true college town. But this small town in New York's Finger Lakes region is also known for its stunning natural beauty, so much so that its slogan is "Ithaca is gorges." Ithaca is surrounded by more than 150 waterfalls, as well as gorges and dense forests with hiking and biking trails. What's more, the town overlooks the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, a superb spot for boating, fishing and swimming. For groups with budding naturalists, follow Ithaca's Discovery Trail to must-see attractions like the Sciencenter and the Cornell Botanic Gardens.

Cooperstown may be small, but it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year thanks to its ties to America's pastime. Although most experts agree that baseball wasn't invented here, Cooperstown remains a mecca for sports lovers because of its must-visit sight, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. However, the village offers other kinds of attractions, too. Travelers can visit the Fenimore Art Museum to see impressive works of art or check out The Farmers' Museum's exhibits about local agriculture. Cooperstown also features beautiful neoclassical buildings, such as Hyde Hall, and a variety of breweries and wineries.

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THE 10 BEST Things to Do in North York, Toronto

Top things to do in north york.

• 5.0 of 5 bubbles
• 4.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 3.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• 2.0 of 5 bubbles & up
• Old Toronto
• Waterfront Communities-The Island
• Downtown West
• Good for a Rainy Day
• Good for Kids
• Budget-friendly
• Good for Big Groups
• Good for Couples
• Good for Adrenaline Seekers
• Hidden Gems
• Adventurous
• Honeymoon spot
• Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.

1. Edwards Gardens

2. Black Creek Pioneer Village

3. Aga Khan Museum

4. Ontario Science Centre

5. Yorkdale Shopping Centre

6. Norma Reed

7. Toronto Botanical Garden

8. Toronto Public Library - North York Central Library

9. Gibson House Museum

10. Meridian Arts Centre

11. The Ismaili Centre

12. Archers Arena

13. Sunnybrook Park

14. Humber River Trail

15. York University

16. G Ross Lord Park

17. Durdy Bayramov Art Foundation

18. Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre

19. CF Shops at Don Mills

20. Toronto Holocaust Museum

21. Bayview Village Shopping Centre

22. True North Climbing

23. High Park Zoo

24. Sandra Ainsley Gallery

25. Downsview Park Merchants Market

26. Rowntree Mills Park

27. St. Bonaventure's Church

28. Lee Lifeson Art Park

29. Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre

30. North York Civic Centre

What travelers are saying

North York Moors National Park: The Complete Guide

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Things to Do

• Best Hikes & Trails

Water Sports

Scenic drives, where to camp, where to stay nearby, how to get there, accessibility, tips for your visit, north york moors national park.

Travel to the northeast of England to discover the 554-square-mile North York Moors National Park , famous for its sweeping fields of purple heather. The national park, established in 1952, is famous as the setting for several novels and films, including Bram Stoker's "Dracula," which was partially written in the seaside town of Whitby.

There are several popular destinations within the park, including Robin Hood's Bay, Goathland, and Pickering. The area is well-known for its hikes, including the famed Cleveland Way, in addition to its beaches and rugged coasts along the North Sea. Whether you prefer to embark on an adventure outdoor or experience local culture, the North York Moors National Park has something for every type of traveler.

The North York Moors National Park consists of scenic towns and villages, beaches and coastline, and vast expanses of countryside, Go shopping in the charming market towns of Pickering, Malton, or Whitby; dine on seafood in the fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay; or take a tour of Castle Howard , featured in Netflix's "Bridgerton." The North York Moors are designated as an International Dark Sky Reserve, boasting lots of spots to stargaze throughout the area. For a dose of history, head to Whitby Abbey , Ryedale Folk Museum , or Levisham Estate .

Outdoor types will enjoy walking, cycling, horseback riding, and trail running, and the long North Sea coastline offers opportunities for swimming, water sports, and boat trips. The North York Moors National Park is known in England as the "capital of cake," which means you can treat yourself after a hike or bike ride at one of the many bakeries and tearooms throughout the villages. Many visitors enjoy a ride on one of the historic steam trains that traverse the North Yorkshire Moors Railway . Head to the train station in Goathland, which you may recognize from the Harry Potter films, to board.

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Best Hikes & Trails

The national park isn't necessarily a hiking destination as it lacks mountains and steep ascents. However, there are several popular walking trails throughout the park, including a few that require long-distance treks. The most famous trail is the Cleveland Way, which runs for 110 miles around the national park and can be completed in segments or as a whole.

The North York Moors are also known for fell and trail running, with numerous running events taking place throughout the region each year. Fell running, where a runner creates their own route through the terrain, is a great way to test your endurance. One of the top running routes is the Cinder Track from Scarborough to Whitby.

While the area isn't necessarily mountainous, the trails can be rocky or rough, so it's important to wear sturdy, comfortable shoes. The weather can be unpredictable and visitors should bring along rain gear and layers. Because many of the trails and routes traverse through the countryside, it's important to know the right of way. Check the park's Rights of Way Map , which is updated daily, when planning your walk.

Here are some of the best trails in the North York Moors National Park:

• Cleveland Way : Officially opened in 1969, the Cleveland Way runs from Helmsley through several towns in the North York Moors, including Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Whitby. It's an accessible trail for all levels of fitness, although you'll need nine days to complete the entire route.
• Lyke Wake Walk: This 40-mile trail traverses the highest and widest part of the national park and is typically done from west to east. There is no official route, but trekkers can follow the New Lyke Wake Club's map .
• White Rose Way : The White Rose Way stretches from Leeds to Scarborough, but avid walkers can take up part of the trail in the North York Moors. Look for the part that passes through Dalby and Wykeham Forests for a particularly scenic walk.
• Esk Valley Walk : Experience some of the most beautiful valleys in England on the Esk Valley trail, which is split into four routes that total 37 miles.

Biking is particularly enjoyable in the North York Moors thanks to its rolling hills and scenic landscapes. There are three dedicated cycling centers within the national park to help both newcomers and experienced cyclists. While some bikers may prefer to ride on the country roads, there are also opportunities to cycle along miles of bridleways, forest tracks, and disused railway lines. There are numerous bike rental shops throughout the North York Moors, including in Pickering, Scarborough, Thirsk, and Whitby.

• Moor to Sea Cycle Network : For cyclists looking to enjoy quiet roads and scenic forest trails, the long-distance Moor to Sea Cycle Network connects Scarborough, Whitby, Dalby Forest, Pickering, and Great Ayton over 150 miles. There are 11 routes in total, which can be joined together for those looking to make a lengthier ride.
• Dalby Forest : Dalby Forest is the prime location for mountain biking in the North York Moors, with options for experienced cyclists as well as families. Look for the accessible 1.7-mile Ellerburn Family Cycle Route or Dixon's Hollow Bike Park, which offers dirt jumps and a track for adventurous riders.
• Sutton Bank : The area of Sutton Bank, which has its own cycling center, is filled with mountain biking trails that are ideal for families and beginners. One of the most popular is the 3-mile Cliff Trail.

Because the North York Moors National Park includes a long stretch of coast, the area is perfect for those seeking water sports. You can rent a canoe or kayak at Whitby Harbour, or try your hand at paddleboarding or surfing in Sandsend. While many of the harbors along the coast offer great shore fishing, the harbors in Scarborough, Whitby, and Staithes are the best of the bunch. Swimming is, of course, a big deal in the park, even when the water is cold. Whitby and Scarborough have the two best beaches, each featuring long stretches of sand and amenities, though visitors will need to be mindful of the tides.

There is a lot to discover in the North York Moors, from the coast to charming countryside towns to vast stretches of moorland. That's all best seen by car, particularly if you want to glimpse the heather when it blooms a majestic purple. There are numerous routes through the national park, and visitors can't really go wrong with any one of them as there's so much to see. For an especially scenic drive, head from Whitby to Hutton-le-Hole along the A174 and the B1460, or follow the Wharfedale Circuit, which stops at Grassington, Bolton Abbey, and Skipton Castle.

The roads in the North York Moors can vary in terms of traffic, but it's always important to be aware of the speed limits, especially on curving sections. There can be layers of fog over the moors during the colder months, so proceed with care. Opt for a GPS addition in your rental car in case cell phone service is limited (it will likely drop out between towns). When in doubt, bring a printed map that leads the way to your destination.

Richard Pinder / Getty Images

The North York Moors National Park offers both camping and glamping options throughout the region. For help finding the best possible campsite, use a booking site like Camping.co.uk . If you want to wild camp, be sure to get permission from the landowner first.

• Middlewood Farm Holiday Park : Bring the kids to Middlewood Farm Holiday Park, where you can rent a caravan, glamping pod, or campsite. Its location near Robin Hood's Bay is great for countryside walks and beach access.
• Partridge Nest Farm : Located on Eskdaleside, Partridge Nest Farm features camping pods and a vacation cottage for rent.
• Lawnsgate Farm : Lawngate Farm, near the village of Lealholm, is ideal for family-friendly camping and glamping in the English countryside.
• Bungdale Head Farm Campsite : This working family farm, found near Helmsley, has spots for tents, motor homes, and RVs. Toilets and running water are available.

Whether you prefer to rent a vacation cottage near the North Sea or bunk up in a quaint B&B in a countryside town, there are dozens of great accommodation options throughout the park. For unique housing options, check out  Canopy & Stars , a travel site with interesting properties for rent around the U.K., or  Sykes Holiday Cottages .

• Raithwaite Sandsend : This four-star hotel on the outskirts of Whitby features stylish rooms and a restaurant. The best part? It's within walking distance of the beach.
• Gisborough Hall Hotel : Embrace countryside luxury at Gisborough Hill Hotel, a manor house hotel with comfortable rooms and a good location between the sea and the moors.
• Grinkle Park Hotel : Located on a 35-acre country estate, this stately house hotel has a real sense of history. Don't miss the hotel's high-end afternoon tea service.
• Pheasant Hotel : Country walkers will make the most of this hotel, located near Helmsley. The rooms are chic and family-friendly, with a restaurant on site.

The North York Moors National Park is located in the northeast of England and is accessible by car, train, and bus. If arriving by train, the best station to come into from London is York , found on the outskirts of the North York Moors. From there, visitors can rent a car or continue on via train to places like Malton, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Whitby. Additionally, the TransPennine Express operates trains from Manchester, Leeds, and York into Malton, Seamer, and Scarborough.

A cheaper but slower option is the National Express bus, which offers service to York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Scarborough, and Middlesbrough. From York, Coastliner Buses continue on to Malton, Pickering, Goathland, and Whitby. By car, the A1 and the A64 bring visitors to the outskirts of the region, and smaller roads like the A172, the A171, and the A170 connect the main towns and the coast.

The nearest airports are Leeds Bradford International Airport, Newcastle International Airport, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, and Teeside International Airport. Car rentals are available at each one. For those coming by ferry from the Netherlands, the closest ferry ports are Hull and Newcastle.

All three of the visitor centers in the North York Moors National Park are accessible, and much of the park itself welcomes those with mobility issues or disabilities. The Moors National Park Centre and the Sutton Bank National Park Centre  have motorized scooters and manual wheelchairs available for free rental, as well as disabled parking spots. While many of the trails involve going off-road, some of the walking and cycling routes are appropriate for those who have trouble walking or who are in a wheelchair. You can find easy-access walks on the park's official website . Attractions like Castle Howard offer disabled parking, accessible toilets, and ramp access.

Daniel Nicholson / 500px

• Take advantage of the national park's three visitor centers. Each features exhibitions, kid-friendly activities, a gift shop, and workshops.
• Plan your visit around the park's nature calendar , which helps travelers discern when to spot specific animals or plants. The heather, specifically, blooms purple and pink from mid-August through September.
• Download the PayByPhone app to pay for parking in all of the North York Moors National Park parking lots. Search for the nearest open spot on the North York Moors' website .
• When planning a visit to one of the area's beaches, use the Tide Forecast to check the incoming and outgoing tides.

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North York Moors

Why we love the north york moors.

Rugged yet beautiful, wild yet welcoming – the North York Moors National Park is full of surprises. It is home to England’s largest heather moorland, a rare landscape that blooms purple in summer and is criss-crossed with hiking and cycling routes, while the coast is famous for its wide sandy beaches, quaint harbour villages and thrilling surf breaks.

The national park sits to the north of York, and is easily accessible from the city on day trips. But you won’t want to scrimp on time, because there’s so much to do: go whale-watching from Staithes, join a stargazing festival, kayak the River Esk, explore the haunting abbeys of Rievaulx and Whitby – and much more.

From countryside to coast, here’s how to squeeze maximum adventure into your North York Moors holiday.

VisitBritain/Acrojou

Follow in smugglers’ footsteps

The pretty fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay wasn’t always so picture-perfect. In the 18th century, its cobbled streets were a secret smuggling hotspot – though today they’re full of quirky boutiques, artists’ workshops and pubs. It’s a joy to linger in, as is the festival-loving, gallery-filled village of Staithes.

VisitBritain/Lucy Ellis

Hollywood calling

From breathtaking coastlines to wild moorlands, quaint fishing villages and a historic steam railway – it’s no surprise that North York Moors is popular filming location for the big and small screen. Whether it’s “Harry Potter”, “Indiana Jones” or “Bridgerton”, set off on a cinematic adventure across the North York Moors .

VisitBritain

Whitby Harbour, England

Coastal road trip

With everything you could want from a holiday including great sandy beaches, old fishing villages and an abundance of nature, head off on a North York Moor coastal adventure . Starting in Hull, explore Scarborough, Saltburn, Whitby and more.

North Yorkshire, Nordengland

Inland road tripping

From Newscastle to Helmsley, a road trip tour of the North York Moors ticks all the boxes. With hiking routes, history and nature in abundance, throw in the great food and cosy accommodation and you’ve got an epic trip on your hands.

Sutton Bank, North Yorkshire, England

Hike, bike and enjoy sustainably

With wild heathlands and hills to explore, the North York Moors is one of Britain’s oldest National Parks. Thanks to its status as a protected area we can continue to enjoy it, responsibly. Want to explore the beauty of nature? Here’s how to experience the North York Moors sustainably . 

Walk on the wild side

Put a spring in your step! When you go hiking in North York Moors National Park , you’ll experience it in glorious detail: the swooping song of a curlew bird, the fresh scent of woodland, the spritz of the sea on a cold winter’s day. There are trails for every ability, including wheelchair-accessible options.

Whitby, England

Fill your trip with festivals

To immerse yourself in local food and culture, look to the region’s vibrant festivals . From the fancy-dress parties of Whitby Steampunk Weekend (July) and WalkFest’s sociable hikes (May), to stargazing at the Dark Skies Fringe Festival (February), there’s always a new event on the horizon.

Welcome to Yorkshire

Escape on two wheels

Which trail to take? From flat forest paths to leg-pumping coastal tracks , the Moor to Sea Cycle Network offers 150 miles (240km) of cycling thrills – ideal for day trips or a week-long challenge. Or, head into those heather-topped hills on the 171-mile (276km) North York Moors Cycleway.

VisitBritain/Ceri Oakes

Sandsend Beach, Whitby, England

Get out on the water

The coastline is catnip for surfers, who come to ride Sandsend’s breaks and swells – along with sailors, windsurfers and paddleboarders, too. Rent a board or boat from a watersports centre, or try kayaking and fishing on the River Esk. Yachties will love Whitby’s three-day Regatta (August).

Charlotte Graham

Whitby Abbey, England

See a different side of Whitby

Feeling brave? Join a ghost tour in the graveyard of Whitby Abbey , the looming ruin that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Or for a hands-on history lesson, visit the Endeavour Experience, a full-size replica of Captain Cook’s ship; the famous explorer lived in Whitby during the 18th century.

Things to do in North York Moors

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The looming ruins of Whitby Abbey inspired Bram Stoker to write his classic novel Dracula – and they’re just as atmospheric today.

VisitBritain/Simon Palmer

Robin Hood’s Bay and Boggle Hole

From golden sands to blustery clifftops and tales of smugglers and sailors, the North York Moors coastline is a joy to explore.

North York Moors Coast, England

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Travel back in time on a steam-powered train – between the market town of Pickering, and Whitby on the coast.

Rievaulx Abbey

Standing tall in a picturesque valley, the ruins of this ancient Cistercian monastery will take your breath away.

Dracula Experience

This spine-tingling tour brings Dracula’s chilling backstory to life, featuring special effects, animations and actors.

Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

Yorkshire, Nordengland

Castle Howard

Head into history is this northern castle for hidden treasures and regal life.

castle_howard

Rock Climbing with Lost Earth Adventures

Don’t just admire the wild peaks of North York Moors National Park – climb them!

VisitBritain/Scott Salt

Tomorrow’s Ghost Festival

Don your heavy eyeliner and black leather for Whitby’s hedonistic celebration of all-things gothic.

Bushcraft with Rewilding Adventure

Learn how to light a fire, build a weather-proof den, and find food in the forest.

North York Moors, England

Staithes Gallery

Explore the rich and varied collection of paintings and photography of the surrounding area.

VisitBritain/Katya Jackson

Whitby Goth Weekend

Every April and October, the seaside town of Whitby transforms into an incredible gothic gathering.

Dark Skies Fringe Festival, North York Moors

With moonlit walks, workshops, stargazing and more, celebrate the International Dark Sky Status of the North York Moors.

Polly A Baldwin

Dalby Forest

Hike, cycle and run through this 8,500-acre woodland, in the North York Moors National Park.

Staithes Beach

As if the quaint fishing village of Staithes wasn’t charming enough, it also features a harbourside beach.

VisitBritain/Melody Thornton

Staithes, England

Saltburn Farmers’ Market

For 15 years, this community market has hosted some of the best-loved local food and drink producers.

Valley View Restaurant – The Mallyan Spout Hotel

Stand-out dishes include Whitby crab, Yorkshire duck breast, and local cheese with chutney and crackers.

North Yorks

Go Ape Dalby Forest

Unleash your inner adventurer on forest segway tracks, high ropes courses and multiple zip lines.

Joe Cornish Gallery

Discover the work of award-winning landscape photographer Joe Cornish, as well as other local talents.

Joe Cornish Galleries

Ryedale Folk Museum

Discover over 40,000 historical objects, and discover buildings that date back hundreds of years.

Olivia Brabbs

North York Moors Chamber Music Festival

Every summer, this two-week classical festival brings top-quality performers to the North York Moors.

Matthew Johnson

Malton Food Lovers Festival

As well as over 100 stalls and vendors, look out for cooking demos, celebrity chefs and tasting sessions.

Richard Ponter

Helmsley Walled Garden

A sublime setting for walks and photography – plus look out for art trails and craft-themed events.

Colin Dilcock

Ryedale Folk Museum’s art gallery and shop

Looking for souvenirs? Take your pick from locally-focused art, small-batch gins and seasonal chutneys.

Ryedale Folk Museum Art Gallery

Adventure Route, Route YC

A 250 mile (415 km) adventure cycling loop, exploring the Yorkshire Coast & North York Moors National Park.

Route YC Adventure Route

Yorkshire, England

Featured things to do

Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire, Northern England

New year, new hobby? Sharpen your photography skills on an expert-led tour, snapping forests full of bluebells, newborn lambs in the fields, and Rievaulx Abbey’s spectacular daffodils.

VisitBritain/Lee Beel

Heavenly heather

The wild heather blossoms in abundance this season, painting the moors pinky-purple in the summer sun. Its sweet scent fills the air, making this a sublime time for hiking and cycling.

Follow that fin! From August to November, the coast is busy with minke, humpback, sei and fin whales – plus dolphins and porpoises too. Join a cruise from Staithes or Whitby.

VisitBritain/Tomo Brejc

Festive magic

Decked with glittering trees and sparkling lights, Castle Howard transforms into a winter wonderland – while Whitby has festive markets and fireworks at its annual Christmas Festival.

Places to stay in North York Moors

Glamping gems.

For a wild night, check out the national park’s quirky glamping sites – where you can bed down in safari tents, luxury yurts, woodland pods and more.

Boutique B&Bs

A great B&B offers stylish bedrooms and fantastic breakfasts, with a truly local welcome. Don’t forget to ask your hosts for their nearby travel tips.

Holiday rentals

From huge country houses with hot tubs and games rooms, to romantic seaside cottages made for two – what’s your self-catering holiday style?

Explore nearby

Small and mighty York is the medieval walled city that really packs a punch.

A hotbed for shopping and the arts, you’ll find lots to explore in Leeds.

VisitBritain/Thomas Heaton

World-class football and a music scene that brought Oasis to centre stage – there’s lots to love about Manchester.

VisitBritain/Manchester Craft Beer Festival

Newcastle upon Tyne

Linked by no fewer than seven bridges, it's one vibrant place to visit.

Rich Kenworthy

Newcastle, England

Getting to North York Moors

If you’re arriving by rail, the stations at York, Leeds and Middlesbrough are the national park’s closest major hubs, and trains from London King’s Cross to York take around two hours. Manchester Airport is a two-hour drive from Helmsley, while the journey from Leeds Airport is one hour – putting the North York Moors within easy reach of destinations all over the world.

Getting around

You don’t need a car to get around: public transport options are plentiful, and the Esk Valley Railway runs right through the national park between Middlesbrough and Whitby, and links up with great walks, attractions and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Meanwhile, the likes of Moorsbus and Moors Explorer operate buses throughout summer and peak weekends.

By steam train

With its puffing steam trains and beautiful countryside views, the 24-mile (38km) North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a charming way to travel through the national park.

Putting extra power in your pedalling, an e-bike takes the strain out of cycling – so you can travel further, for longer. Most hire companies deliver bikes to local hotels.

Voted one of Britain’s most spectacular bus routes, the 840 Coastliner runs from Leeds to Whitby – and is just one of the many bus services that run all over the region.

Want to know more?

For outdoor adventures, expert travel tips and all the best places to stay, check out the national park’s official website.

© Vincent Tullo/NYC & Company

New York City

Epicenter of the arts. Architectural darling. Dining and shopping capital. Trendsetter. New York City wears many crowns, and spreads an irresistible feast for all.

Best Time to Visit

Best things to do, attractions, must-see attractions.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Upper East Side

What started with a handful of paintings brought over from Europe or donated by a coterie of philanthropically minded robber barons in the 19th century…

Central Park

Upper West Side & Central Park

One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways,…

Ellis Island

Financial District & Lower Manhattan

Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is the US's most famous and historically important gateway and is home to one of the country’s most moving…

Empire State Building

The Chrysler Building may be prettier, and One World Trade Center taller, but the queen bee of the New York skyline remains the Empire State Building. NYC…

One World Observatory

Spanning three levels at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, One World Observatory offers dazzling panoramic views over Manhattan's…

Guggenheim Museum

A New York icon, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, more commonly known as the Guggenheim, is an internationally-renowned art museum and one of the most…

Statue of Liberty

It’s been over a century since Lady Liberty made her debut appearance on the New York skyline, but this iconic statue is still one of the city’s most…

National September 11 Memorial Museum

When the twin towers of the World Trade Center toppled during the awful events of 11 September 2001, it led to years of soul-searching about what would be…

Top picks from our travel experts

15 of the best things to do in new york city in 2024.

Chrysler Building

Designed by William Van Alen and completed in 1930, the 77-floor Chrysler Building is the pinup for New York's purest art deco architecture, guarded by…

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Opened in 1911 and now one of Brooklyn's most picturesque sights, this 52-acre garden is home to thousands of plants and trees and a Japanese garden where…

This 265-acre zoo is the country’s biggest and oldest, with over 6000 animals and re-created habitats from around the world, from African plains to Asian…

West Village, Chelsea & Meatpacking District

It’s hard to believe that the 1½-mile-long High Line – a shining example of brilliant urban renewal – was once a dingy freight line that anchored a rather…

Museum of Modern Art

Superstar of the modern-art scene, MoMA's galleries are a Who’s Who of artistic heavyweights: Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rothko,…

Brooklyn Museum

This encyclopedic museum, imagined as the centerpiece of the 19th-century Brooklyn Institute, occupies a five-story, 560,000-sq-ft beaux-arts building…

Top of the Rock

When it comes to views in New York City, you’ll be spoiled for choice. The One World Observatory may have the edge for height, and the Empire State…

The original Luna Park, the most famous of Coney Island's competing amusement parks, opened in 1903 and reigned for decades until destroyed by fire in the…

Coney Island

About an hour by subway from Midtown, this popular seaside neighborhood makes for a great day trip. The wide sandy beach has retained its nostalgic,…

New York Botanical Garden

Founded back in 1891, this welcome expanse of green takes in 50 acres of old-growth forest, alongside lush gardens, ornate greenhouses and water features …

Times Square

Love it or hate it, the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Ave (aka Times Square) pumps out the NYC of the global imagination – yellow cabs, golden…

Nathan’s Famous

The hot dog was invented in Coney Island in 1867, which means that eating a frankfurter is practically obligatory here. The top choice: Nathan’s Famous,…

Industry City

These six towering warehouses by the Brooklyn waterfront have been repurposed as a 35-acre hub for shops, design studios, start-ups and nonprofits. The…

Yankee Stadium

The Boston Red Sox like to talk about their record of nine World Series championships in the last 90 years…well, the Yankees have won a mere 27 in that…

Grand Central Terminal

Completed in 1913, Grand Central Terminal – commonly, if incorrectly, called Grand Central Station – is one of New York’s most venerated beaux-arts…

American Museum of Natural History

Founded back in 1869, this venerable museum contains a veritable wonderland of more than 34 million objects, specimens and artifacts – including armies of…

Met Cloisters

Harlem & Upper Manhattan

On a hilltop overlooking the Hudson River, the Cloisters is a curious architectural jigsaw, its many parts made up of various European monasteries and…

Radio City Music Hall

This spectacular moderne movie palace was the brainchild of vaudeville producer Samuel Lionel 'Roxy' Rothafel. Never one for understatement, Roxy launched…

Madison Square Garden

NYC's major performance venue – part of the massive complex housing Penn Station – hosts big-arena performers, from Kanye West to Madonna. It’s also a…

The home of the New York Mets, the city's underdog baseball team, Citi Field opened in 2009, replacing the earlier Mets HQ, Shea Stadium. In contrast to…

Rockefeller Center

This 22-acre 'city within a city' debuted at the height of the Great Depression, with developer John D Rockefeller Jr footing the $100-million price tag…

21 best free things to do in New York City

Green-Wood Cemetery

If you want to enjoy a slice of scenic Brooklyn in total peace and quiet, make for Green-Wood Cemetery. This historic burial ground set on the borough’s…

New York Public Library

Loyally guarded by 'Patience' and 'Fortitude' (the marble lions overlooking Fifth Ave), this beaux-arts show-off is one of NYC's best free attractions…

Museum at FIT

Fashionistas won't want to miss a visit to the fabulous sartorial exhibits at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), which holds one of the world's…

David Zwirner

David Zwirner operates several galleries around Chelsea, including this five-story, sustainability-certified building with 30,000 sq ft of exhibition…

With the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie gracing its stage since it opened in 1981, Blue Note is one of NYC's premier jazz…

Hudson Yards

After six years of construction and $25 billion of investment, the first phase of Manhattan's new megadevelopment 'neighborhood' on the Hudson finally…

National Museum of the American Indian

An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, this elegant tribute to Native American culture occupies Cass Gilbert's spectacular 1907 Custom House, one of…

Delacorte Theater

Every summer the Public Theater heads here to present its fabulous free productions of Shakespeare in the Park, which founder Joseph Papp began back in…

Public Theater

SoHo & Chinatown

This legendary theater was founded as the Shakespeare Workshop back in 1954 and has launched some of New York's big hits, including Hamilton in 2015…

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay & Lesbian Art

The world's first museum dedicated to LGBTIQ+ themes stages six to eight annual exhibitions of both homegrown and international art. Offerings have…

Strawberry Fields

Standing inside the park across from the famous Dakota Building, where John Lennon was fatally shot in 1980, is this poignant, tear-shaped garden – a…

New York Earth Room

Since 1980 the oddity of the New York Earth Room, the work of artist Walter De Maria, has been wooing the curious with something not easily found in the…

Socrates Sculpture Park

First carved out of an abandoned dump by sculptor Mark di Suvero, Socrates is now a city park on the river's edge with beautiful views and a rotating…

Prospect Park

Brooklyn is blessed with a number of historic, view-laden and well used green spaces, but its emerald is Prospect Park. The designers of the 585-acre park…

Pace Gallery

With seven galleries across the world – including this eight-story Chelsea flagship – and decades of experience showing the work of such artists as Willem…

American Folk Art Museum

This small institution offers rotating exhibitions in three small galleries. Past exhibits have included quilts made by 19th-century soldiers and…

General Ulysses S Grant National Memorial

Popularly known as Grant’s Tomb (‘Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?’ ‘Who?’ ‘Grant, stupid!’ goes a classic joke), this landmark holds the remains of Civil…

This compact bar and performance space, named after a neighborhood in Paris with a strong North African flavor, is owned by French musicians (and longtime…

Village Vanguard

Possibly NYC's most prestigious jazz club, the Vanguard has hosted literally every major star of the past 50 years. Starting in 1935 as a venue for beat…

African Burial Ground National Monument

In 1991, construction workers here uncovered more than 400 stacked wooden caskets, just 16ft to 28ft below street level. The boxes contained the remains…

Bronx Museum

Culture vultures will enjoy the Bronx Museum for its its well-executed exhibitions of contemporary and 20th-century art. The Bronx Museum has a strong…

Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip.

Things to Know

A perfect balance of urban landscape and green space, New York lends itself to one of the healthiest, most enjoyable outdoor pursuits – cycling.

Best Neighborhoods

Here’s our multi-borough guide to some of the most exciting neighborhoods in the Big Apple.

From sleepy towns to vibrant beaches on the Jersey Shore, here are the top day trips from New York City, all within a two-hour journey.

Money and Costs

NYC is certainly not cheap but there are bargains (and freebies!) to be found if you know where to look. Here's how to visit the Big Apple on a budget.

Transportation

NYC and its transport never rest. From 24-hour subways and buses to taxis and bikes, it's all here. This is all you need to know about navigating New York.

Free Things to Do

No filler. No fee. This is the best of New York City for free.

Traveling with Kids

NYC has something for kids of any age. Explore a museum or run wild at a city park: the Big Apple is filled with family-friendly activities.

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New York City and beyond

The Path of Totality North America

Dance, gawk or run in the dark, but don’t look directly at the sun.

From the beaches of Mazatlán, Mexico, to the rugged coves of Maberly, Newfoundland, the sky will be the stage on April 8 as a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. This year, the moon will be near its closest point to Earth, resulting in an unusually wide swath and long-lasting totality.

Mexico, Canada and 13 U.S. states will greet the darkness with celebrations. The Portal Eclipse Festival in Mazatlán promises “spiritual growth” through D.J.s, yoga and more. NASA will be broadcasting from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where $15 will get you admission to a festival and eclipse glasses called, fittingly, the Greatest Spectacles. On the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Cosmologists Without Borders will offer space-themed programs. And if you’re game to run with a headlamp, consider a race in Millinocket, Maine.

You can find an interactive map at eclipse2024.org and a list of activities at nationaleclipse.com .

— Danielle Dowling

Paris France

Preparing for the olympics, and millions of sports lovers.

Already one of the most visited cities in the world, Paris is preparing to welcome millions of travelers this summer as host of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games . It will be the biggest sporting event in the city’s history, and to mark the occasion many well-known monuments are being transformed into sports and entertainment venues.

In a first, the Olympics opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium but outdoors, along the River Seine and near the Eiffel Tower. Outdoor swimming and the para-triathlon will be set against the backdrop of the Pont d’Iéna. The Grand Palais , renowned for its vast glass dome, is undergoing an extensive renovation to stage the fencing and taekwondo events. The grand gardens of the Château de Versailles, just outside Paris, will be transformed into a gallery and course for the equestrian events. La Concorde will stage the Olympic debut of break dancing and other sports like skateboarding and three-on-three basketball.

If that weren’t enough, Paris, along with Normandy, is also celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition. “Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment” will feature 130 works at the Musée d’Orsay (March 26 to July 14), tracing the artistic movement and how it captured a changing city. The reconstructed Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was ravaged in a fire in 2019, is also scheduled to open to visitors on Dec. 8, 2024.

— Ceylan Yeginsu

Yamaguchi Japan

Savor the temples and the cuisine and skip the crowds.

Yamaguchi is often called the Kyoto of the West, though it’s much more interesting than that — and it suffers from considerably less “tourism pollution.” A compact city of about 190,000, it lies in a narrow valley between the Inland and Japan seas.

With its impeccable gardens and its stunning five-story pagoda , Rurikoji Temple is a national treasure. The city’s small winding lanes offer an assortment of experiences: pottery kilns like Mizunoue , situated on the grounds of Toshunji Temple; chic coffee shops like Log and Coffeeboy , and older-style options like Haraguchi ; and wonderful counter-only shops that serve oden, or one-pot dishes. Just a 15-minute walk south is the hot-springs village of Yuda Onsen.

Given the tourist crush in Kyoto, Yamaguchi has also been offering a smaller scale — but no less historic — alternative to Kyoto’s Gion summer festival for some 600 years. Yamaguchi’s Gion Festival, which features parades, costumes and dancing, also takes place in July; 2024 will be its first year operating again at full tilt since the pre-Covid era.

— Craig Mod

New Zealand by Train

Riding the rails through vineyards, volcanoes and snow-capped peaks.

Road-tripping across New Zealand via camper van is a free-spirited traveler’s dream. But a simpler and more sustainable way to go is by train. Opt for a 17-day journey on the Northern Explorer, Coastal Pacific and TranzAlpine trains offered by Great Journeys , the tourism division of KiwiRail, New Zealand’s national rail operator.

The journey starts in Auckland and explores transcendent sites like the volcanic peaks of Tongariro National Park and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum . Guests ferry across the Cook Strait to the South Island and board the Coastal Pacific for a ride through world-class vineyards and along the jagged coast, stopping to whale- and dolphin-watch before ending in Christchurch. The last leg on the TranzAlpine starts on the lush Canterbury Plains then climbs over the Southern Alps, with views to white-capped peaks, rushing rivers and alpine lakes. Accommodations are in four-star properties at stops along the way. Coming in spring: carriages with luxurious reclining seats, panoramic windows and partial glass ceilings.

— Stephanie Pearson

Maui Hawaii

A mindful resurgence of tourism after a catastrophic fire.

Maui, Hawaii’s second largest island and one of its most popular among visitors, was dealt a devastating blow last summer when wildfires blazed across its western shores , killing at least 100 people and razing the town of Lahaina . Nonessential travel to the affected areas was paused for two months; with such tragedy came concerns among travelers and residents about the resurgence of tourism, Maui’s top economic sector.

Though Lahaina remains closed, the island is once again welcoming visitors and still brimming with an abundance of activities and lush landscapes to enjoy: In the community of Kihei, Kamaole State Beach Park is ideal for snorkeling and spotting sea turtles. Farther north in Kapalua, a gentle walking trail meanders through lava fields and along the sea. And some of Maui’s most cherished natural attractions, like Haleakala National Park , are far removed from the fire zone. Travelers can also go a step further by volunteering to help people displaced by the wildfires.

— Christine Chung

Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni Arizona

Honoring the sacred indigenous land around the grand canyon.

While Grand Canyon National Park is no stranger to travel bucket lists, there’s a new reason to visit the southwestern United States. The recently designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni , or Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, now conserves around 900,000 acres of plateaus, canyons and other land surrounding the Grand Canyon. Considered the ancestral homelands of more than a dozen Indigenous tribes, the monument also preserves more than 3,000 Native cultural and historic sites, reflecting the area’s deep spiritual and sacred significance.

Support the local Native American community by booking a Colorado River adventure with the Hualapai River Runners , a white-water rafting company led by Hualapai Tribe river guides. But whether above or below the rim, be sure to look up: The California condor, the largest bird in North America and once facing extinction, now has a population of more than 100, thanks to recent conservation efforts.

— Gina Rae La Cerva

New hotels and advanced biometric technology enhance visits

Singapore hasn’t stopped racing toward modernization since its independence in 1965. Now the cosmopolitan city-state, already known for its cuisine , architecture and world-class airport, is transforming itself with a luxury hotel boom. Edition recently opened a 204-room property in the downtown Orchard Road district, while the Standard will open later this year. Famed hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental and Grand Hyatt , which closed in recent years for major renovations, will also return.

Changi Airport has also undertaken a major expansion. In November, Terminal 2 fully reopened with new automated check-in kiosks, bag drops and immigration lanes, more than quadrupling the terminal’s capacity to 28 million passengers per year. And many passengers will be moving through Changi even more efficiently this year, as the airport plans to adopt the latest biometrics and facial recognition technology for passport-free departures.

O’Higgins Chile

Sample delectable local foods while connecting with rural farmers.

This overlooked region south of Santiago has been facing a changing climate, wildfires that are threatening hundred-year-old grapevines, frequent earthquakes and undervalued traditions. So a group of local cooks, winemakers and artisan growers have joined to preserve their campesino, or rural farmer, identity. In late 2023 their initiative, known as Ruta de los Abastos, began offering rural culinary experiences to connect visitors to local beekeepers, oyster farmers and other producers.

Markets and restaurants — like El Abasto in the city of Rancagua and the vineyard-based restaurants at Food and Wine Studio and Viña Vik — are highlighting regional ingredients like locally raised lamb, salt from the coast at Cáhuil and a rustic, low-alcohol wine called chacolí, produced by area growers. On the coast around Pichilemu and Punta de Lobos, amid minimalist beach lodges like Hotel Alaia , locavore seafood with natural wine lists — like those found at Mareal — dominates the scene.

— Nicholas Gill

Ladakh India

Trek to mountaintop monasteries and savor a stark and rugged landscape.

Ladakh, a mountainous region known as the Land of High Passes, is nestled between the Himalayas to the south and the Karakoram range to the north. This rugged land, with its stark beauty and remote villages, is a place where time seems to have stood still.

In recent years, though, administrative changes have greatly improved infrastructure and accessibility. The Atal Tunnel , a remarkable feat of engineering, allows visitors to sidestep the infamous Rohtang Pass , turning a treacherous ride — lasting several hours in the best of weather — into a brisk 20-minute one. That makes it easier than ever for visitors to experience the area’s stunning landscapes, pristine lakes, Buddhist monasteries and other cultural attractions, which in Leh (Ladakh’s largest city) include markets, several museums and an extraordinary nine-story palace . New hiking and trekking routes in Leh and the Zanskar Valley round out the options for those in search of adventure.

— Poras Chaudhary

Geneva Switzerland

Satisfy your curiosity about quantum physics, and your cravings for chocolate.

The tiniest bits of nature are the biggest attraction at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, and its 17-mile-long particle accelerator on the outskirts of Geneva. But until recently, visitors had limited options for nerding out. Open since October, the family-friendly, Renzo Piano-designed CERN Science Gateway changes that with activities like quantum karaoke, quantum air hockey and miniature magnetic accelerators modeled after the Large Hadron Collider, where in 2012 physicists discovered the elusive Higgs boson , seen as a key to understanding the universe’s origins.

Less mind-blowing but still satisfying to hungry scientists and laypeople alike, the Choco Pass , a self-guided chocolate tour that debuted in 2022, lets visitors sample Geneva’s famous truffles, bonbons and pralines. And if you want to explore the nature of time — or timepieces — book a table at Breitling Kitchen , the Swiss watch brand’s fourth crossover restaurant, which features menus designed by Juan Arbelaez of “Top Chef.”

— Adam H. Graham

Dominica The Caribbean

A bird’s-eye view of rainforests, reefs and a boiling lake.

A patchwork of volcanoes, rainforests, waterfalls and hot springs has earned Dominica, a 290-square-mile independent nation in the West Indies, the nickname the Nature Island. Later this year, visitors will be able to get a bird’s-eye view of the wild landscape thanks to a $54 million, 4.1-mile cable car line that will whisk passengers from the lush Roseau Valley up to Boiling Lake , a roughly 200-foot-wide fumarole flooded with nearly 200-degree water, which currently requires a demanding hike to reach.

The island is also a playground for eco-adventurers: Hiking trails crisscross its three national parks , its crystal cascades make for ideal waterfall rappelling , pristine coral reefs offer some of the best diving in the world, and more than 20 species of whales and dolphins abound along the island’s west coast — including a resident population of sperm whales, which will get their own dedicated sanctuary this year.

— Nora Walsh

Manchester England

New concert venues open in a music-mad city.

Music has long been at the core of Manchester’s gritty soul, from Joy Division and the Stone Roses to Oasis and, now, Harry Styles, who is backing Britain’s largest new music arena, Co-op Live , set to open in April. Stars like Liam Gallagher, Eric Clapton and Barry Manilow are booked to inaugurate the 23,500-capacity space, which will complement the reopening of concert halls like the post-punk incubator Band on the Wall and New Century , where the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Tina Turner have all graced the stage.

For those interested in emerging talent, the city will host two major music conferences this year, including Worldwide Music Expo , a behemoth packed with concerts, speakers, films and an awards ceremony, and Beyond the Music , a smorgasbord of performances, parties, workshops and more. In November, Laurie Anderson will headline the Factory International arts center with “ARK,” a multimedia “dark comedy for the end of the world.”

Craters of the Moon Idaho

Celebrate a centennial amid cinder cones and star parties.

Between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago, outpourings of lava blanketed what would become eastern Snake River Plain in Idaho, creating a surreal landscape with gaping craters, steep-sided cinder cones and underground lava tubes. President Calvin Coolidge established the area as a national monument in 1924; for its centennial, Craters of the Moon will unveil new and rehabilitated trails, wayside exhibits developed in partnership with Shoshone-Bannock tribal elders, and a packed calendar of events.

Marvel at this Dark Sky Park at a centennial Star Party with telescopes from the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society, or camp out under one of the largest remaining “pools” of natural nighttime darkness in the United States. And enjoy it all in relative solitude. Expanded to 750,000 acres to cover the Great Rift, a 52-mile-long crack in the Earth’s crust, Craters of the Moon is about the size of Yosemite National Park but receives just 6 percent of the visitors.

— Ratha Tep

Baltimore Maryland

Explore urban waterways and an array of native artwork.

It’s an enormous year for Charm City. The 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act is bringing in a new Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center ; the Baltimore Museum of Art is increasing the presence of Native artists with solo shows, thematic exhibitions and changes to displays and labels across the museum; and Baltimore Peninsula , a place for visitors and locals to shop, dine and play, will breathe new life into a long-neglected port area.

For outdoor enthusiasts, a network of waterways called the Baltimore Blueway — open to kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and rowboats — will connect visitors throughout the waterfront to cultural, historic and natural sites. And movie buffs take note: The director John Waters will be in his hometown shooting a film based on his first novel, “Liarmouth.”

— Daniel Scheffler

Salar de Uyuni Bolivia

Crunching or splashing across the world’s largest salt flat, under starry nights and mirrored skies.

Like all the best places, Salar de Uyuni, 12,000 feet high in the Andes, can be demanding. Getting there means a rough overland journey, nights in dusty hotels and the threat of altitude sickness, but when you walk on the world’s largest salt flat, your crunching footsteps are often the only sound on this blanched, 4,000 square miles of salt crust, left behind when prehistoric lakes evaporated. Geometric striations lace the crystalline surface, while the rainy season only amps up the wonder, turning the salt flat into a liquid mirror that reflects otherworldly cloud formations, sunsets and starry nights.

There’s also an appetite for what lies beneath it: Earth’s second-largest stash of lithium. Demand for the “white gold” — used in electric-car and smartphone batteries — is surging. Last year Bolivia authorized two Chinese companies to begin extracting about 50,000 tons annually from the Uyuni salt flats. The mining efforts could affect the area’s beauty and ecosystem. Better go to the Salar soon.

— Lucinda Hahn

Negombo Sri Lanka

A fishing village with stunning temples and plenty of seaside delights.

Tourism in Sri Lanka has long focused on Dambulla’s astonishing cave temple and the beaches of the southern coast. But travelers in search of less-trafficked destinations are paying newfound attention to Negombo, a fishing village. Less than 25 miles up the western coast from the capital, Colombo, the village of Negombo offers a nearby international airport, hiking and plenty of beaches.

Had enough sun? Visit stunning temples and landmark cathedrals then unwind in one of the dozens of seafood restaurants — chefs here make good use of local prawns and crabs — in the charming downtown, known for its colonial-style buildings and Dutch canals.

Sustainability is a focus for businesses, especially the just-opened Uga Riva , a luxe hotel in a refurbished manor house that once welcomed Mohandas K. Gandhi and diplomats from around Asia. Tourism in Sri Lanka took a hit in recent years because of political unrest, followed by the coronavirus pandemic — but the country is back on track, and your money goes a long way.

— Liza Weisstuch

Massa-Carrara Italy

See the home of the marble that makes the masterpieces.

In an effort to reduce the crowds that fill the galleries of the Uffizi in Florence , the renowned museum has been transferring some of its masterpieces to lesser-known locales across Tuscany. As part of the latest initiative in the ever-expanding program known as Uffizi Diffusi , a collection of works, including paintings from the studio of the Italian Baroque painter Carlo Dolci, will be exhibited this spring in the town of Massa, at the Palazzo Ducale , which also houses the government offices of the Massa-Carrara province in northwestern Tuscany.

Art enthusiasts can also explore the surrounding Apuan Alps from which the marble for so many masterpieces — including Michelangelo’s David — was sourced, tour marble quarries and maybe even meet a working sculptor carving on the side of the road.

— Ingrid K. Williams

Bannau Brycheiniog Wales

Conserving welsh culture among scenic mountains.

Reclaiming the name Bannau Brycheiniog for a beloved national park in Wales last year was more than a linguistic change to Welsh from English ; it was a shift to spotlight the Welsh culture of the 520-square-mile park, formerly known as Brecon Beacons. The park’s emphasis on the relationship between nature and local culture is also shown in a new logo. Instead of the burning brazier of Brecon Beacons, the logo now has an ancient Welsh crown set within a green forest under stars, a reflection of the park’s commitment to a future where planting native trees restores temperate rainforest, the revegetation of peatland captures carbon and the dark sky is protected from light pollution.

While visiting Bannau Brycheiniog, “the peaks of Brychan’s kingdom,” make use of the park’s public transport and bike rentals, including the Explore Wales Pass for trains and buses, or take in the views by hiking through waterfall country from the village of Pontneddfechan.

— Susanne Masters

Support local recovery in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake

Before the earthquake that killed almost 3,000 people in September, the Ourika Valley in Morocco seemed like the dreamiest of escapes: silvery-green olive groves that give way to the dramatic reddish ridges of the Atlas Mountains, simple guesthouses and luxurious boutique hotels, farm-fresh cuisine, hiking, horseback riding — and all just an hour’s drive from Marrakesh.

Those retreats are staffed almost entirely by people who live in the valley’s villages, which have long experienced government neglect. The earthquake pulverized mud-brick homes around Ourika, killing many residents. Nearly all hospitality workers were forced to move into makeshift tents, yet within days they were back on the job at several lightly damaged hotels.

That’s because the whole region depends on tourism, and it — along with Marrakesh and Morocco as a whole — needs visitors now more than ever. But locals hope visitors will understand that there’s more to Morocco than its glossy surface. Khalid Ait Abdelkarim, a hotel worker whose home was destroyed, said Ourika welcomed tourists because “that’s what Moroccan people do.” But, he added, “We also deserve good lives.”

— Vivian Yee

Valencia Spain

Contemporary art with a side of paella.

Spain’s third-largest city has long been overshadowed by Barcelona, despite sharing similar characteristics: miles of velvety sand beaches along the country’s east coast, a vibrant cultural scene and a rich gastronomic tradition (Valencia is considered the birthplace of paella). But Valencia, which was named the European Commission’s “ green capital ” for 2024 — an award that recognizes cities for their environmental efforts — stands apart for travelers seeking more sustainably minded, less crowded destinations. The city has been revitalizing its historic center with leafier, pedestrian-only spaces, most recently with Plaza de la Reina , its lively public square, and is on track to be climate-neutral by 2030.

Valencia’s cultural landscape has also received a major boost with the Hortensia Herrero Art Center. Opened in November in the restored Valeriola Palace, the space houses the Spanish billionaire Hortensia Herrero’s private contemporary-art collection and includes more than 100 works by artists like Anish Kapoor , Andreas Gursky and Mat Collishaw .

— Vivian Song

Kansas City Missouri

Women’s soccer takes center stage in a heartland hub.

No doubt, soccer reigns supreme: In March, the Kansas City Current will unveil the first stadium built for a National Women’s Soccer League team, and Kansas City holds bragging rights as the sole Midwestern host for the FIFA World Cup 2026 . But other headliners abound, with new lures for budding bookworms and adventurers.

Opening in March, the Rabbit hOle museum will showcase a century’s worth of American children’s literature with immersive and interactive exhibits. (In the case of the towering installation for “The Funny Thing,” by Wanda Gág, children will be scrambling to feed “jum-jills” to the “aminal.”) Young thrill-seekers can soar up the new 150-foot-tall KC Wheel at Pennway Point , a new entertainment district. And beginning in April, visitors can get their kicks at Rock Island Bridge , a reimagined railway bridge that will offer dining above with kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding below.

Antananarivo Madagascar

Textiles and contemporary art flourish on an island known for natural wonders.

Most tourists to Madagascar come to see wildlife or luxuriate on the beautiful islands off its northern coast, but the country’s teeming capital is developing a vibrant arts scene, and La Fondation H , a contemporary arts center that opened last April, was created to showcase Malagasy talent. It occupies a restored French colonial brick building, and the first exhibit is dedicated to one of the world’s greatest textile artists: Madame Zo, who died in 2020 and whose weavings were inspired by traditional Malagasy fabrics and basketry.

La Fondation H is the latest addition to Madagascar’s rapidly growing number of institutions specializing in contemporary art, including the Musée de la Photographie de Madagascar and Hakanto Contemporary , an arts center with a calendar of group shows and solo exhibitions by artists from Madagascar and beyond and also an artists-in-residence program. Maison Gallieni , which also houses the consulate of Monaco, offers four comfortable rooms in a house in a pretty garden with a pool.

— Alexander Lobrano

Yucatán Peninsula Mexico

A new train makes remote sites more accessible.

The Maya Train , a new service that began partial operations in December, will connect popular destinations on the Yucatán Peninsula — including beachy Cancún, historical Mérida and the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá — to more distant sites, like Calakmul, a once powerful and still relatively intact Maya city near the Guatemalan border, and Palenque, gateway to the famous archaeological park in Chiapas state.

While the estimated $20 billion project, which began in 2020, has been criticized for threatening water quality and wildlife habitat, it is hoped that the service will benefit less-touristy destinations like the gulf port town of Campeche, a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognized for its 16th-century fortifications. Intended to bring jobs and investment and spread tourism beyond Mexico’s Caribbean beaches, the train will eventually ring the peninsula, traversing five states over nearly 1,000 miles of track and connecting directly with the new airport in Tulum.

— Elaine Glusac

Lake Toba Indonesia

Bask in the serenity of the world’s largest crater lake.

The value of simply sitting in a vast hole in the earth and stirring condensed milk into a cup of Sumatran coffee is difficult to overstate. About 74,000 years ago, one of the planet’s most significant volcanic explosions blew a 60-mile-wide gash into Sumatra, creating the foundation for Lake Toba, the world’s largest crater lake. It is curious to consider that a place where one can listen to the clink of a spoon inside a coffee cup once rocketed ash and gas 30 miles into the stratosphere.

Unlike Indonesia’s more popular destination, Bali, Lake Toba is without the crowds. It’s also far from the din of the country’s audacious plans to move its sinking capital . On the Tuk-Tuk peninsula, where most travelers base themselves, take a hike to learn about the Batak people who call the area home. Pass terraced rice paddies and churches with rusty sheet-metal roofs and then dive into the lake — into this cathartic space that once knew cataclysm but now knows calm.

— Joel Carillet

Almaty Kazakhstan

Luxe baths, kaleidoscopic cathedrals and hyper-contemporary food.

Kazakhstan’s largest city, with a population of two million, has the feel of a peaceful but active rural town. The underground metro gleams with intricate tile work. The Arasan baths are the apotheosis of bathing pleasures: massages atop marble slabs, cold plunges, unbearably hot saunas. Walk the leafy streets in an attentive mood and you’ll find endless delights — like a mustachioed man playing the accordion in front of the kaleidoscopic Ascension Cathedral .

Almaty’s status as a cultural hub, though, is increasingly evident in its food scene. “Neo-nomad” cuisine — focused on flour, water and meat — is being championed in hyper-contemporary style; sample it at Auyl or Tör . Cuisine from northwest China is on offer at Lanzhou Noodle , and great coffee at Sensilyo Coffee or JumpinGoat . Gaze upon the patchwork quilt of fruits and nuts splayed out at the Green Bazaar — and then try PlatformA , a large food hall that recently opened inside a Soviet Modernist building.

Quito Ecuador

Ride a brand-new metro line through nearly 500 years of history.

Updated Jan. 10, 2024: Ecuador declared a nationwide state of emergency . Please heed travel warnings, including advisories from the U.S. Department of State , before visiting.

When the brand-new 14-mile Metro line in Quito, Ecuador’s high-altitude capital, becomes fully operational this year, its 15 stations will connect the city from north to south, making it easier for travelers to explore — from the exquisitely preserved churches of the UNESCO-listed historic center to modern districts flaunting avant-garde towers designed by the likes of Bjarke Ingels and Moshe Safdie .

Although parts of Ecuador have made headlines for cartel-related violence , crime rates in Quito are down, according to the National Police, and a dedicated police force patrols areas popular with tourists. Check out San Francisco Market in Old Town to see traditional curanderas (female healers) who offer cleanses (from stress relief to fertility support) using bouquets of flowers and herbs. And grab a table in the hip La Floresta neighborhood, where homegrown chefs like Rodrigo Pacheco, whose farm-to-table restaurant Foresta is set to reopen after a hiatus, are getting creative with Ecuadorean ingredients.

Mingan Archipelago Quebec

Sea-sculpted monoliths, puffins and indigenous heritage.

In the wild Côte-Nord region of Quebec, the Mingan Archipelago , a national park reserve on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, unfolds ethereally. Hike amid Canada’s largest concentration of erosion-sculpted monoliths, which rise like fossilized works of art; kayak on the misty sea; and explore secluded beaches framed by marshes and forests. And watching over the land are the people of the Innu First Nations group .

Last summer, the Canadian government pledged to create new initiatives to support the Innu connection with the lands and waters, and to ensure the transfer of knowledge between generations. Visitors can share in that knowledge with new programs offered by the Mingan reserve, including spiritual and wellness workshops led by the Innu Nutashkuan community . For full coastal immersion, head to the Île aux Perroquets , where you can watch puffins and bed down under handcrafted quilts in a lighthouse keeper’s quarters.

— AnneLise Sorensen

Montgomery Alabama

A new sculpture park is dedicated to both slavery and emancipation.

When it comes to conversations about race in America, few destinations are as engaged as Montgomery, the former capital of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the civil rights movement. In 2018, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice became the first site of its kind to address racial terror across America, represented by 800 suspended steel pillars, one for each county where a lynching was known to have taken place.

This year, the Equal Justice Initiative, the nonprofit that opened the memorial, will debut a companion site: Freedom Monument Sculpture Park . On the banks of the Alabama River, the 17-acre park will exhibit works by Kehinde Wiley and Theaster Gates; artifacts, including dwellings relocated from a cotton plantation and a pen where enslaved people were held; and the 43-foot-tall National Monument to Freedom. Dedicated to the millions of enslaved Black people who were emancipated at the end of the Civil War, the steel-walled monument, which resembles an open book, will be engraved with more than 120,000 of their surnames.

Tasmania Australia

Where foraging for ingredients is part of the local flavor.

Venture outside and help protect vulnerable species in Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state, with several new guided walks . Tasmanian Walking Company , in partnership with the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, offers a three-day trek across rugged Bruny Island to map flora and collect seeds for the garden’s seed bank.

To get a taste of the island’s Indigenous culture, join members of the local Palawa community on multiday treks through the powder white sands of Wukalina (Mount William National Park) and orange-lichen-covered rocks of Larapuna (Bay of Fires). Or to get an actual taste of the island, forage for ingredients like wattle seeds and pepperberries with guides from Palawa Kipli , a company that is Indigenous-owned and operated — the experience ends with a tasting menu that includes smoked payathanima (wallaby).

Locavore menus are the norm throughout Tasmania, and the chef Analiese Gregory , a wild-cooking expert, will be showcasing ingredients like hand-gathered abalone and sea urchin at her yet-to-be-named restaurant set to open early this year.

Waterford Ireland

Viking history and a newly expanded rail path.

Yes, Waterford is synonymous with crystal, but the city, founded in 914, also sparkles with history and natural treasures. In the Viking Triangle, Waterford’s cobblestone core, a new digital story trail brings the past to life at stops like the medieval landmark Reginald’s Tower . The city also offers less-ancient attractions, including the new Irish Wake Museum , dedicated to the funeral ritual, and the Irish Museum of Time , which showcases grandfather clocks, watches and more.

Waterford’s natural riches rival its historical ones, notably the Copper Coast, hemmed by towering cliffs and scalloped coves. The coast forms part of the Waterford Greenway , a nearly 30-mile path along a disused rail line. In 2023, a new section linked the Greenway to the center of Waterford. Top off your Greenway adventure with afternoon tea amid one of Ireland’s largest collections of plants at Mount Congreve Gardens , which reopened in 2023 after a multimillion-dollar refurbishment.

Tsavo National Park Kenya

Celebrate africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation program.

In 2021, African savanna elephants went from vulnerable to endangered , putting them on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list for possible extinction. But in Kenya, the elephant population has grown by 21 percent since 2014, to a total of 36,280. Almost half live in Tsavo, home to Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation program, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust .

At its heart are several core conservation projects, including an elephant orphanage, rehabilitation units and mobile veterinary clinics that have treated more than 11,000 animals, including some 3,500 elephants, since 1977. The organization has rehabilitated and released 200 elephant orphans (120 are still in their care) and runs anti-poaching teams, builds water sources and secures vulnerable boundaries. The wildlife trust also manages six small eco-lodges, which provide local jobs and help its conservation work. In 2024, the trust will open the first lodge next to the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary , dedicated to saving the critically endangered black rhino.

— Danielle Pergament

Brasília Brazil

A modernist capital reopens its architectural gems.

Brasília, Brazil’s capital since 1960, is often overshadowed by more flamboyant destinations like Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. But Brasília, a planned city famous for its futuristic, Modernist white buildings that rise from the Brazilian highlands, is opening up in new ways. The Palácio da Alvorada , the presidential residence, which had been closed to visitors for a decade, will reopen early this year.

Another symbolic change is the recent removal of the barriers that since 2013 had surrounded the Palácio do Planalto , the presidential office, offering greater access to its reflecting pools and arches. The Planalto was one of the government buildings stormed by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro last year. Its expanded accessibility signals a return to the original vision of Brasília’s architects, Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, of an open and integrated city.

— Paulo Motoryn

El Salvador

Savor local flavors of corn, coffee and more in a fast-changing country.

While questions remain about how it was accomplished , El Salvador’s security situation has drastically improved, opening up large areas of the country. Long-ignored hotels and restaurants are experiencing renewed interest along the Ruta de las Flores, a 20-mile string of rural villages in the western highlands that are surrounded by coffee fincas and pine forests, culminating in the ever-expanding night market in Nahuizalco, home of the Nahua, an Indigenous group.

In San Salvador, the capital, the dining scene is charging beyond fast-food chains, led by the fine-dining hot spot El Xolo , which champions local varieties of corn in its restaurant inside the Museo Nacional de Antropología . Coffee shops like Carajo and Crafters promote small farms growing native varieties like pacamara.

Along the coast, government initiatives like the new pier and seafood market at Puerto de la Libertad receive the most attention, but more deserving are the riverbed oyster bar Chepe Aleta , in the town of El Zonte, and the beach camps and eco-lodges outside the Playa El Tunco surf bubble.

Koh Ker Cambodia

A vast 10th-century temple complex gains unesco status.

For anyone put off by the constant throngs and overly Instagrammed images of the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia — a bucket list destination for seemingly everyone on Earth — a millennium-old sprawl of ruins in a nearby region offers a more remote and adventurous alternative. Built in the 10th century, some two centuries before Angkor Wat, the sacred city of Koh Ker was recognized with UNESCO World Heritage status in the fall of 2023.

The heart of the site is a 4.5-square-mile cluster of temples — notably a seven-tiered pyramid known as Prasat Thom — along with statues, stone carvings, artificial ponds and vast trees whose roots entwine many of the crumbling structures.

Siem Reap, Cambodia’s second-largest city, is the best base for travelers. Roughly 70 miles from Koh Ker (around two hours by taxi), Siem Reap is home to a brand-new international airport and a crop of stylish new homegrown crash pads like Babel Boutique Hotel . And if you’re not intimidated by the crowds, Angkor Wat is just down the road.

— Seth Sherwood

Vestmannaeyjar Iceland

Take a battery-powered boat to the world’s largest puffin colony.

A new electric ferry has helped connect Iceland’s mainland to this small archipelago — also called the Westman Islands — off the country’s south coast, where the world’s largest puffin colony has turned many residents into active conservationists . (The archipelago was unaffected by the mid-December volcanic eruptions elsewhere in Iceland.)

From May to September, Heimaey, the main island, becomes a favorite weekend destination for Icelanders, who fill up sleek new villas during the frequent concerts and festivals, while cruise ship passengers can be seen racing around the outer islands on rib boats, visiting the Beluga whale sanctuary and riding A.T.V.s into the crater of the Eldfell volcano, which nearly wiped out the town during a 1973 eruption. Home to one of the country’s most important fishing communities, with a new seafood festival and a wave of culinary offerings like an artisan bakery and a craft brewery , Vestmannaeyjar has been hailed by the local media as the “ food capital of Iceland .”

Montevideo Uruguay

South america’s most laid-back capital turns 300.

Although it is the capital of one of South America’s most progressive nations (weed and same-sex marriage are legal, and its electrical grid is almost entirely powered by renewable sources ), Montevideo has a reputation for being on the quieter side. But as the city of 1.4 million celebrates 300 years , this is a perfect time to fall for Montevideo’s more subtle, easygoing charms.

Among the tree-lined boulevards of Pocitos, Cordón and Centro, shuttered neighborhood diners that once served simple Uruguayan fare are being lovingly restored as stylish yet affordable eateries. One is Pantagruel , a corner bar that preserved its midcentury furnishings when it reopened last year (try a glass of tannat , Uruguay’s specialty wine). Montevideo also has the world’s longest Carnival, with 40 nights of parades and block parties, from Jan. 25. It’s more affordable and family-friendly than Rio’s, and no less glittery.

— Laurence Blair

Mustang Nepal

A remote citadel of tibetan culture cracks open the gate.

Nestled high on the Tibetan plateau in the northern reaches of Nepal, the ancient Himalayan kingdom of Mustang is a bastion of traditional Tibetan culture, preserved for centuries by its remoteness. Now, a new 183-mile road linking the region to China as well as the gleaming but debt-saddled and increasingly contentious international airport in Pokhara — both projects backed by Beijing — will give travelers easier access to sites like the well-preserved medieval fortress of Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang, which was a restricted area for tourists until the early 1990s.

Wilderness treks through the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges traverse river gorges, glacial lakes and rugged trails dotted with yaks and sheep. While budget-friendly hotels abound, the new, luxury Shinta Mani Mustang makes Nepal’s new trekking rules , which require hikers to use a local licensed guide or porter, easier to follow by offering a range of tours with certified guides.

Vienna Austria

A grand reopening in the city where the waltz became famous.

After a three-year, 100-million-euro makeover, the Wien Museum , dedicated to Vienna’s history, recently reopened with a free permanent exhibition that chronicles its hometown’s rise from a Roman military camp to an imperial capital to a city that consistently ranks among the world’s most livable . Along with additional floors, there’s a new entrance, a plaza, a Viennese restaurant and a terrace overlooking Karlsplatz, a square with connections to the painter Gustav Klimt .

Fans of Johann Strauss, who composed “The Blue Danube,” an unofficial anthem of the city, can waltz over to the House of Strauss, a sparkling new museum opened on Oct. 25, what would have been Strauss’s 198th birthday. And for the competitive dancers, July’s EuroGames , one of several L.G.B.T.Q. events planned in the city this year, will draw thousands of queer athletes to face off in the ballroom as well as in other sports like tennis and basketball.

Brisbane Australia

Food, art and vertiginous views in a city gearing up for its olympic moment.

Scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2032, Brisbane is undergoing a face-lift with a $3.6 billion expansion of the Queen’s Wharf area, set to partly open in 2024. The development includes the restoration of historic buildings, four new hotels, parks and public spaces, and an 820-foot-long Sky Deck with bars and restaurants overlooking the Brisbane River.

But there’s more than big development: At Agnes, a restaurant with a rooftop bar, chefs are renowned for their skill in cooking over an open flame. The Calile Hotel, with balconied rooms overlooking a palm-lined pool, feels like an oasis in the middle of the city. Rounding out the cultural experience is Brisbane Powerhouse, a 1920s power station reborn as a cultural hub, the site of the Melt Open , a celebration of queer arts and artists, and Vertigo , a restaurant where harnessed and clipped-in diners eat while dangling four stories above the ground. After dinner, they can abseil down the building’s exterior.

Pasadena California

An artsy, walkable corner of los angeles county that’s worth the metro ride.

Pasadena’s natural beauty is clear as soon as you roll into town — maybe on the Los Angeles Metro, where the just-opened Regional Connector project makes possible a one-seat ride from the sands of Long Beach to the stands of the Rose Bowl. The San Gabriel Mountains preside over Pasadena like a sylvan crown, and hiking and biking trails framed by forested valleys and tumbling waterfalls abound in places like the Angeles National Forest .

The leafy city center is eminently strollable, with a vibrant main street and the nearby Norton Simon Museum , which features a sculpture garden inspired by Monet’s grounds at Giverny. The Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse offers serious drama as well as youth-focused programming. And PST Art , a Getty museum project, will include exhibitions at Pasadena museums and art centers this year. To fuel up, try the innovative newcomer Bar Chelou (its name means “weird” in French) or a new wave of Asian restaurants, notably the Cantonese-influenced Colette .

Hurghada Egypt

Dive in the rich underwater world of the red sea.

An hour’s flight from Cairo and just off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt, the Great Fringing Reef remains an abundant marine ecosystem that includes 40 types of sharks and 400 coral species.

The reef’s resiliency is often credited to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association , a nongovernmental organization founded by divers in 1992. The group has since installed one of the world’s largest mooring systems (to reduce the harms of dive-boat anchors), instituted a local ban on single-use plastics and made snorkel tours and beach cleanups social events for residents and tourists. Last year, the organization opened three long-awaited dive sites to help minimize the impact on other reefs.

On land, the recently opened Serry Beach Resort , overseen by one of Egypt’s first female hotel directors, offers 453 rooms and suites decked out in locally made textiles fronting an infinity pool and the crystalline Red Sea. Egypt remains a relatively safe destination despite its proximity to the Israel-Hamas war.

— Michele Bigley

Boundary Waters Minnesota

A protected watershed, but for how long.

Last January, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order that bans toxic mining on 225,504 federal acres within the Rainy River Watershed in northern Minnesota for 20 years. That was good news for the 150,000 annual visitors who paddle the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a network in the watershed of more than 1,200 miles of canoe routes that connect 1,100 freshwater lakes.

This roadless wilderness is pristine, a place to fish for walleye, hear the haunting call of a loon and camp in thick boreal forest — it’s also a habitat for bears, wolves and lynx. A suit by a local conservation group seeks to expand the ban on mining. But the area’s future remains uncertain: A bill has been introduced in Congress to reverse the order, and a subsidiary of a Chilean mining company has received approval to conduct exploratory drilling on state land next to the wilderness.

Thessaloniki Greece

An ancient seaside city gets decked out in rainbows.

The squat, round White Tower is to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, as the Acropolis is to Athens. The structure, built in the 15th century under Ottoman rule and once known as the Tower of Blood, was renamed and painted white in the late 1800s by a prisoner in exchange for his freedom. The tower will glow with rainbow colors representing a different kind of liberation this year as thousands of L.G.B.T.Q. travelers gather from June 21 to 29 to celebrate EuroPride — the city’s chance for a redo after the pandemic scuttled its turn to host the event in 2020.

Thessaloniki, founded in 316 B.C. and named for a sister of Alexander the Great, is renowned for its Byzantine mosaics as well as its clubs, cafes and bars. Savor a glass of ouzo along the bay — unlike Athens, Thessaloniki is right on the water — and see if you can spot Mount Olympus.

— Danial Adkison

Normandy France

Celebrating a region’s role in the impressionist art movement.

The revolution began quietly, a century and a half ago, with a canvas depicting a port in this region in northern France. Painted in 1872 by Claude Monet and displayed two years later at a pioneering Paris exhibition of iconoclastic artists — including Renoir, Degas and Pissarro — “Impression, Sunrise” was a hazy, color-soaked view of Le Havre that gave birth to perhaps the 19th century’s most famous artistic style. For the 150th anniversary of that show, the Normandy Impressionist Festival (from March 22 to Sept. 22) will celebrate the region’s centrality in the lives and works of the movement’s major figures. (Paris will also host numerous events.)

Rouen, whose cathedral was famously portrayed by Monet , will take center stage. Events there will include a lighted projection on the cathedral’s facade by the avant-garde stage director Robert Wilson and an exhibition of the painter David Hockney’s Normandy-inspired work at the city’s Musée des Beaux-Arts . Impressionist-themed exhibitions and events are also expected in Giverny (where Monet lived), Honfleur (home to the Eugène Boudin Museum ), Le Havre and other Normandy spots.

Grenada The Caribbean

White sands and underwater art on an island of timeless charm.

More flights from JetBlue , Virgin Atlantic and Air Canada promise easier access to this Caribbean island nation, but you may never want to leave. Grenada’s verdant terrain, bountiful farms and uncrowded white-sand beaches entice with culinary delights, natural attractions and new luxury accommodations.

The 28-room Silversands Beach House will open in February on Portici Beach, and later this year, the Six Senses La Sagesse will offer 56 suites and 15 villas, each with a private pool. All the better to relax after a submarine visit to Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park , the first of its kind, where a recent upgrade includes 31 new pieces of art .

Grenada and its smaller islands, Petite Martinique and Carriacou, offer plenty of places to snorkel, fish, dive and sail, but don’t miss a tour of a rum distillery , chocolate company or spice garden : There’s good reason Grenada, which celebrates 50 years of independence this February, is known as the Spice Isle.

— Elisabeth Goodridge

El Camino de Costa Rica

A coast-to-coast trek with cloud forests, local chocolate and more.

With new signage, the Camino de Costa Rica , a 174-mile cross-country hiking trail that connects the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, became easier to navigate last year. Organized into 16 sections, the trail knits together 25 rural communities and terrain that ranges from beaches to cloud forests. The full hike can take from 11 to 16 days, and along the way, travelers passing through Indigenous areas can hire members of the Cabécar community as guides. The trail also traverses national parks and sanctuaries that host dazzling birds like the resplendent quetzal .

Trekkers can camp, book hotels or stay overnight with families, sampling homegrown coffee and chocolate as well as dishes like a variety of gallo pinto made with beans, rice and coconut milk that’s often enjoyed on the Caribbean side of the trail. Local outfitters offer custom itineraries, including accommodations and luggage transfers, and activities like rafting, horseback riding and canoeing — all ways to help support areas off the tourist track.

Albanian Alps

Rugged peaks where hikers wander and shepherds roam.

The remote mountain range in northern Albania, known as the Accursed Mountains, or the Albanian Alps (although it also reaches into Montenegro and Kosovo), has for years entranced hikers seeking serenity among its peaks. It may not be peaceful for long: Budget airlines like Ryanair and Wizz announced new routes to Albania, making its glassy lakes and miles of relatively untouched trails more accessible for explorers looking for an affordable paradise.

Once reachable only with a four-wheel drive, northern villages like Theth are now accessible by a narrow but paved mountain road, although drivers may still need to wait for a passing cow or two. Visitors can stay with locals in guesthouses or farm stays to get a glimpse of rural life before hiking the Valbona Pass within a national park encompassing some 200,000 acres to gaze across wildflower-strewn valleys and see shepherds tending to their flocks.

— Isabella Kwai

Whitehorse Yukon

For northern lights viewers, a warm welcome in a remote capital.

In the current 11-year solar cycle, magnetic activity in space will peak between January and October, expected to prompt more frequent and active northern lights. In the clear skies around Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon territory in northwest Canada, aurora-viewing tours have become a draw, taking place via canoe, snowshoe and fat-tire bike.

Surrounded by mountains and boreal forests, Whitehorse offers a warm welcome from the wilds in flourishing small businesses, including Yukon Brewing , offering “beer worth freezin’ for,” Gather Cafe & Taphouse , which shares space with a glassblowing studio, and Woodcutter’s Blanket , serving craft cocktails and microbrews in a 1930s log cabin.

Nature is never far from the city, where you can stay in a cabin built to blend into the landscape at Black Spruce resort, or soak under starry skies at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs .

Choquequirao Peru

An archaeological wonder reachable only on foot, for now.

As its tourism industry was recovering from pandemic losses, Peru was gripped by antigovernment protests that led to the shutdown of Machu Picchu , the country’s most famous attraction, and caused travelers to leave or cancel trips in droves. Now, as tourism is rebounding, efforts are gaining steam to direct visitors to lesser-known archaeological sites .

One site being considered for expanded tourism infrastructure is Choquequirao . Another spectacular Incan citadel, it receives fewer than 10,000 visitors a year. The catch: It’s a three- to four-day trek to get there. The government last year announced a $200 million investment in the site, with a plan to build a cable car and improve trails to boost tourism. A window may slowly be closing to reward a spirit of adventure with an enigmatic, ancient complex, surrounded by snowy peaks and wilderness, that feels entirely your own.

— David Feliba

Dresden Germany

Romantic landscapes and an avant-garde treasure trove in a city long on the mend.

All but leveled in the Allied firebombing of 1945, Dresden has been rebuilding for decades. Now, with the historic center’s major restoration projects nearly complete, the city is ready to fete a favorite son: the archetypal Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich .

Born 250 years ago in September, he’s being celebrated across Germany, though Dresden — where he spent most of his creative years — is throwing the biggest party. Starting in August, the Albertinum and the Kupferstich-Kabinett museums will pay tribute with a joint exhibition. Serious fans — whether of his work in particular or Romantic landscapes in general — will want to follow in his footsteps along the Elbe Valley’s trails with Friedrichian-lore-loving guides.

If your tastes lean modern, no fewer than 1.5 million works of 20th-century art await at the Archiv der Avantgarden-Egidio Marzona , set to open May 5, in the restored Blockhaus, a new raw-concrete jewel housed in an opulent 18th-century shell.

— Abbie Kozolchyk

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve Mexico

Welcoming endangered insects in verdant forests.

As many as a billion monarch butterflies overwinter every year in this green forest of fir, juniper and pine trees in Central Mexico. After decades of falling population numbers , the beloved black, orange and white insect was classified as endangered in 2022 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

This 139,000-acre reserve has six sites where visitors can hike into the forest and see the clusters of butterflies perched high in the tree canopy. Each sanctuary has a different appeal: The Rosario sanctuary is near the historic mining town of Angangueo, with quaint hotels like Rancho Cumbre Monarca , while Piedra Herrada is a two-hour drive from Mexico City.

Overwinter season is from November to March, and the ideal time to visit is midweek, when the sanctuaries are less crowded and less noisy, so you may be able to not only see the butterflies, but also hear their collective flutter.

— Jorge Valencia

Flamingo Florida

Rediscover a beloved lodge in the heart of the everglades.

The vast beauty of the Florida Everglades is perhaps best appreciated at night, when the national park is all constellations and creatures. But for those who don’t care to brave the elements (or the mosquitoes) while camping outside or in an R.V., it has been impossible to stay anywhere with air-conditioning since two hurricanes destroyed the park’s only hotel in 2005.

That changed in November with the reopening of the Flamingo Lodge , now elevated and made out of sturdy shipping containers. A renovated visitor center and restaurant have been built to better withstand sea level rise caused by climate change.

The return of the beloved facilities, along with glamping “eco-tents,” has given birders, stargazers and anglers a reason to reconnect with the outpost of Flamingo, on mainland Florida’s southernmost tip and less than two hours by car from Miami.

And if you’re lucky, you may spot flamingos in Florida Bay.

— Patricia Mazzei

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Home » Travel Guides » United Kingdom » England » 15 Best Places to Visit in North Yorkshire (England)

15 Best Places to Visit in North Yorkshire (England)

As England’s largest county, North Yorkshire has a dizzying array of towns and natural environments, from barely-charted cave systems to sweeping sandy beaches, and from stately spa towns to remote upland hamlets.

To say there’s something for everyone in North Yorkshire doesn’t begin to sum it up.

Still, anybody coming to this neck of the woods should be directed to York, which is ancient and beautiful, as well as the Victorian resorts on the coast like Scarborough and Saltburn, which possess a dignity and elegance you don’t often see in English coastal towns.

For nature there are two massive national parks, while history abounds in the shape of haunting abbeys, heritage steam railways and Norman castles.

Lets explore the best places to visit in North Yorkshire :

When it comes to heritage, historical appeal and plain good looks, York is practically unmatched in England.

The city can be traced back to the 1st century, and during medieval times was England’s second city after London.

York was held in such high esteem by the Georgians it was safeguarded from the chimneystacks of the Industrial Revolution.

And so you’re left with an unspoiled warren of cobblestone streets, corbelled timber houses and 18th-century flat-fronted townhouses.

York Minster is one of Northern Europe’s largest gothic cathedrals and an enduring masterwork of medieval art.

When the railways arrived in York the city became an integral transport hub between London and Edinburgh, and you can dip into this history at the peerless National Railway Museum.

Penned to the coast by the North York Moors, Whitby is a town around a former whaling harbour lodged in the River Esk estuary.

The older east bank of the river is all fishing cottages, cobblestone lanes and maritime inns, with a listed building every few steps.

Looking down on that east bank are the spectral ruins of Whitby Abbey, claimed to have inspired Bram Stoker to make the town his point of arrival for Dracula.

The town has cinematic beaches, historic churches, loads of fragments of its old whaling industry and a museum for Captain James Cook, the first western explorer to reach Australia, New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands.

This attraction is in the former home of the Walker Brothers, ship-owners who employed Cook while he was in Whitby.

3. Scarborough

Packed onto rocky limestone terrain, Scarborough could well be the cream of England’s seaside resorts and has been attracting tourists since the 1500s.

It was the Victorians who made an industry of tourism in Scarborough, engineering promenades between the North and South Bay and atop the South Cliff.

The Regency and Victorian architecture in these areas of the old spa resort is appropriately rich.

On the seafront next to the fine sandy beach are English seaside essentials like fish and chip shops, ice cream parlours, stands selling cockles and winkles, and the marvellous 19th-century spa complex, now a regal entertainment venue.

4. Harrogate

In the middle of rural North Yorkshire, Harrogate’s 88 springs became all the rage in the 17th century, and an exclusive spa town was soon born.

Harrogate has lost none of that historic lustre, and is replete with dignified Georgian houses, hotels and old pump rooms on cobblestone lanes and grand avenues.

Now the name is a synonym for luxury, as illustrated by Betty’s Cafe Tea Rooms, possibly the finest place for afternoon tea in England and frequented by the Queen when she’s in town.

England’s third-smallest city is also the oldest in the country, having been founded more than 1,350 years ago.

There are sights in Ripon that will leave you speechless.

And this certainly applies to the Studley Royal Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This 18th century country garden in the romantic style was designed to complement the atmospheric ruins of Fountains Abbey, which was built in the 12th century and then abandoned in the 1500s.

Ripon Cathedral is the other indispensable attraction, designed mostly in the early English gothic style.

Look out for the 35 “misericords” , carvings on the underside of the choir seats, commissioned in the early-1490s.

6. Yorkshire Dales

Taking up massive swathes of the northwestern side of the county, the Yorkshire Dales are hills and river valleys on a limestone bed.

This geology grants the park majestic cave systems that, like Goyden, Stump Cross, Ingleborough and White Scar, are open as show caves for tours.

Many others are the preserve of experienced cavers and potholers, and if this interests you there are lots of guides waiting to take you on subterranean adventures.

For everyone else the Dales mean hikes in one of the most secluded areas in England where your friends and loved ones, and herds of Swaledale sheep, may be your only company.

7. North York Moors

Those who crave the outdoors are spoiled in North Yorkshire, as the county also has the North York Moors National Park.

This is 1,430 square kilometres of heather moorland and forest to the east of the county, continuing right to the North Sea coast where it yields to cliffs and magical sandy beaches.

The uplands, with hills rising above 400 metres is dramatic heather moor, while this falls away to deep dales with seams of ancient woodland.

There are more mature trees on the North York Moors than any other place in Northern England.

Only a few thousand people live on the North York Moors, so settlements are limited to hamlets and villages with pubs that will be a welcome sight for hungry or weary walkers and cyclists.

No settlement in the Yorkshire Dales are blessed with as much limestone formations as the village of Malham.

On treks around Malham you’ll reach a host of minor natural wonders in a matter of minutes.

Most photographed is Malham Cove, a sheer wall, 80 metres high and shaped by an ice age river.

Climbers love to scale the cliffs, while cave divers explore the maze-like cave system and the base, which is at least 1.6 kilometres long.

There’s an awe-inspiring raving at Gordale Scar, painted by Turner and eulogised by the poet William Wordsworth.

Then there’s Malham Tarn, England’s highest lake and a National Trust site for its unusual alkaline waters and biology.

9. Helmsley

This market town straddles the boundary of the North York Moors National Park and is the trailhead for the long-distance Cleveland Way, which curls through the park and along the coast down to Filey more than 110 metres away.

If there’s one monument you must see in Helmsley it’s the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey.

The ruins are managed by English Heritage and are some of the most complete of any abandoned abbey in the country.

This was once one of England’s wealthiest Cistercian monasteries until it was dissolved by Henry VIII in the 1500s.

There’s much more to the town than this though, as Helmsley features a castle brewery a centre for birds of prey and an exquisite walled garden from 1759.

10. Knaresborough

People travel  a long way to Knaresborough just for the sight of the town teetering on the steep gorge on the east bank of the River Nidd.

And what sets the view off is the lovely Knaresborough Viaduct crossing through the gorge carrying trains into the town.

Knaresborough’s sharp gradient only makes it prettier, as you clamber up the cobblestone streets and staircases that rise from the riverside.

On the west bank is a spring with such high mineral content that objects left hanging here take on a stony appearance after a few years.

This is also Mother Shipton’s cave, where the notorious 15th-century prognosticator was supposedly born.

11. Grassington

In the Yorkshire Dales the smart market town of Grassington has a village-like feel and is one of the best places to stay if you’re thinking of a hiking holiday in the park.

There’ a park authority information centre to clue you in everything you can track down in the wilderness close by, and a cute little folk museum depicting traditional costume and trades.

The picturesque village of Linton close by has the Linton Falls, a man-made weir with a high volume of water crashing on the rocks below.

These waters were channelled to power old textile mills, and a hydroelectric plant here that had been defunct since the 40s was restored in 2012 and now produces power for the village a century after it was installed.

12. Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Up to the mid-1800s there wasn’t much in Saltburn bar an inn  and a few cottages.

That was until the railways arrived, and with them the Pease Family of industrialists from Darlington.

The story goes that Henry Pease, a Quaker, had a heavenly vision of a city here resembling Jerusalem in 1858 and ventured to bring it to life.

Notice the “Jewel Streets” , a series of parallel roads with sea views, named after precious stones (Amber, Pearl, Diamond) and claimed to be inspired by that original vision.

The resort had a whole load of innovations, like the water-powered “Cliff-Lift” funicular, which still rattles from the pier to the cliff-top.

The Zetland Hotel, now apartments,  was remarkable for being one of the first hotels with its own private train platform.

Like many places towards the North of England Hawes has an Old Norse name, which means “mountain pass”. This comes from the Buttertubs Pass, an upland road that now links Hawes with the villages of Muker and Thwaite to the north.

And as for the name “Buttertubs”, these are the 20-metre limestone potholes on the way, where market traders would store their butter on hot days.

Hawes market has been trading since the early-1300s and got its official charter in 1699. Now it takes place on Tuesdays, and the must-buy is Wensleydale cheese, which is produced in Hawes at the Wensleydale Creamery.

Inquisitive cheese-lovers can stop by to see how George Orwell’s second-favourite cheese is made, and try it for themselves afterwards.

14. Pickering

On the southern verge of the North York Moors, Pickering is the town that many travellers choose as their accommodation for their excursions into the park.

It’s a given that the moors are a big draw in Pickering, but there’s also a weekend’s worth of interesting things to see in and near the town.

Take St Peter and St Paul’s Church, which has a captivating set of frescos on the walls of the nave, with images like St George slaying the dragon, painted around 1450. Also here are the spectacular ruins of Pickering Castle, with a 13th-century ruin with a chapel and much of the outer walls and towers remaining.

Finally, the Beck Isle Museum is a celebrations of all things Victorian, and recreates life in a Market Town in the 1800s.

15. Robin Hood’s Bay

The achingly pretty Robin Hood’s Bay is a seafront village with cliffs, beaches and a little nest of alleys and lanes to explore.

You’re also on Yorkshire’s Dinosaur Coast, where it’s not too difficult to find fossils in the local shale rock, and dinosaur footprints have even been identified.

The village rests in a gap in the cliffs and has no more than a few streets of red brick fishing cottages.

The beach is below, and at low-tide seems to never end.

You can step inside the old Coastguard Station, which is a National Trust property commanding wonderful coastal views, or walk to the Georgian St Stephen’s Church in Fylingdales, which has a 200-year-old Georgian interior that has hardly been touched.

15 Best Places to Visit in North Yorkshire (England):

• Scarborough
• Yorkshire Dales
• North York Moors
• Knaresborough
• Grassington
• Saltburn-by-the-Sea
• Robin Hood's Bay

• Destination Guides
• North America

The Best Things to Do in New York

By Elite Traveler

The city is known as the cultural capital of the US with good reason: Nestled amid residential and shopping districts you’ll find an astonishing number of world-renowned museums and art galleries. Moreover, Manhattan has a bevy of sights and characteristics that make every visit unique. We have chosen our favorite galleries, museums, sights and activities that will complete any visit to The Big Apple.

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There is probably no better, or easier, way to see everything in New York.

From the Empire State Building and Central Park to the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty, the city is even more splendid from above. Sunset tours, when one can watch the forest of buildings in Manhattan change color, are the most spectacular.

Additionally, this convenient mode of transport is a great way to reach the heart of Manhattan from any of the metropolitan airports or the Hamptons.

Tel: +1 212 355 0801 Email: [email protected] Website: heliny.com

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Things to Do in Manhattan

Originally built in the 1930s to raise dangerous freight trains above Manhattan streets, the High Line has been restored as an elevated public mark more than two miles long.

The renovation was extraordinary: The former railway is now a sliver of green garden snaking its way above Manhattan’s West Side. Meandering concrete pathways are lined with wild plants and flowers native to the area, along with moveable seating, allowing you to relax and admire the view from this privileged vantage point.

When exploring the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, take to the High Line for a gentle stroll with river views, or as a means to avoid the traffic and bustle of the streets below.

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Tel: +1 212 206 9922 Email: [email protected] Website:  thehighline.org

Top of the Rock

The Rockefeller Center’s historic observation deck presents the finest views of Manhattan.

Atop this prominent building is a multi-level observation deck affording unobstructed, open-air views of the city’s most prominent landmarks, from the Chrysler Building to the Statue of Liberty and the entire length of Central Park.

A visit to Rockefeller Center wouldn’t be complete without this elevated perspective from Midtown’s vibrant heart. During the holiday season, Rockefeller Center hosts New York’s most famous Christmas tree and ice skating rink, and among the permanent attractions are some of the city’s finest art and dining.

Shopping is very much the center’s main pastime. Featuring some of the world’s most refined brand names in a truly iconic setting, Rockefeller Center continually abounds with keen shoppers.

Tel: +1 212 698 2000 Email: [email protected] Website: topoftherocknyc.com

Central Park

Central Park Zoo: Although it only occupies a tiny corner of southeast Central Park, this imaginative zoo houses more than 150 species in two climatic zones. In the tropics, you’ll meet monkeys and see free-flying birds, while the polar circle is home to penguins and polar bears, observable both above and below the water.

The Loeb Boathouse: Lunching in the Boathouse restaurant overlooking the lake and gardens beyond is a must. Explore the lake on a rowboat and float beneath romantic Bow Bridge.

Ice skating: For the best scenic ice skating in the park, head to Trump’s Wollman Rink.

Conservatory Garden: This six-acre, flowering formal garden graces Central Park’s northeast corner.

Delacorte Theater: Located in the heart of the park, this amphitheater is home to New York’s Shakespeare in the Park season. Past performers include Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Natalie Portman. Free tickets make for long lines, so ask your concierge to secure seats.

Picnics: For a true New York al fresco experience, ask your hotel concierge to prepare a picnic lunch or dinner and have it delivered to a park location of your choice. You’ll find yourself surrounded by locals, who love to enjoy both nature and city skyline views from this lush haven.

Whitney Museum of American Art

The Whitney Museum is the home of 20th-century and contemporary American art and maintains a focus on works by living artists.

Its dedication to the collection, preserving and interpreting modern works means preeminent artists have had their first comprehensive museum surveys at the Whitney. They include important figures such as Jasper Johns, Jay DeFeo, Glenn Ligon, Cindy Sherman, and Paul Thek.

The museum has strived to purchase works in the year they were created, often well before the artists who created them become broadly recognized. It is located between the High Line and the Hudson River in a vast building that allows for large exhibitions and programs.

Tel: +1 212 570 3600 Email: [email protected] Website:   whitney.org

Guggenheim Museum

One of the most iconic buildings in New York houses an internationally renowned art collection.

A visit to the Guggenheim is a unique experience unlike any offered by a conventional art gallery – architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the museum as a journey, with visitors walking up (or down) a gently sloping spiral. The galleries are divided like membranes in citrus fruit, with self-contained yet interdependent sections.

Visitors can view pieces by great artists like Picasso, Kandinsky and Miró at their own pace or join a tour to learn more about museum highlights, special exhibitions or the building itself. Alternatively, book a private viewing before or after museum hours and have this amazing spot entirely to yourself.

Website: guggenheim.org

The Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is New York’s premier destination for lovers of 19th and 20th-century works.

The world-renowned institution’s collection includes pieces by the hands of Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Giacometti, Lawrence, Rothko and Warhol among many others.

Outside is Philip Johnson’s sculpture garden containing many of his striking minimalist works in matte black granite. In addition to the works of these modern masters, you will always find works or exhibits that question the notion of ‘art,’ making any visit to the MoMA an eye opener.

Website: www.moma.org

The Frick Collection

Originally a private art collection in a Fifth Avenue mansion, The Frick Collection has now been transformed into a wonderfully intimate museum housing a collection of the grandmasters from the 14th to the 19th centuries.

Among the Monets, Renoirs and many other priceless paintings are collections of bronzes that are the finest in the world, superb 18th-century French furniture, porcelains and Oriental rugs.

For private affairs and exclusive dining, The Frick also hosts concerts and parties in its beautiful garden.

Website: frick.org

From the Egyptian and Greek wings to the American wing to the Impressionist and Realist galleries, this museum is a treasure.

Known to New Yorkers as the Met, its exhibitions are always the talk of the city. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park, is one of the world’s largest art galleries.

After viewing some of these fascinating displays, enjoy a glass of wine on the beautiful rooftop garden.

Tel: +1 212 535 7710 Website: metmuseum.org

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A holiday guide to North Yorkshire

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Real ales, tremendous views, great food, handy for walkers with a thirst on ... Martin Wainwright knows a good Yorkshire pub when he finds one and here are 10 of his favourites

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Heather-clad ridges, lush valleys, pretty villages, rugged coastline … the North York Moors is a stunning place to walk. Local expert Jo Foster of the National Trust chooses her top 10

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With underground caves, giant rocks and waterfalls – plus an aerial adventure park and botanical gardens – the Yorkshire Dales is a brilliant natural playground for children and adults

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These 10 affordable places to stay in and around Yorkshire's national parks range from a 200-year-old shooting lodge to a bike cafe with rooms – most have cheap dorm options

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Harrogate may not be the first place you would think of for a city break, but these decadent boutique apartments are a great reason to visit the Yorkshire spa town, says Rhiannon Batten

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A new boutique hostel in York offers excellent value in an overpriced city, says Tony Naylor

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A £30m makeover has turned a shipping magnate's former home into a luxurious hotel. It ticks all the boxes, but it won't set your pulse racing, says Tony Naylor

Britain's best budget eats 10 of the best restaurants and cafes on the North Yorkshire coast

North Yorkshire's coastline boasts a variety of good, budget reataurants, cafes and – of course – fish and chip shops. Tony Naylor seeks out 10 of the best, from Scarborough and Whitby to the Bempton Cliffs

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The atmosphere is chilled, the welcome warm and the food fantastic, finds Sally Shalam . Pity about a few small details

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Who better to show you round a harbour town than a fisherman? Kevin Rushby enjoys a winter weekend of beachcombing, storytelling and campfires

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Is it safe to travel to North York now?

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