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Travel News You Can Use
By Cynthia David
Design and art go together at one sleek Chicago property. Loews Chicago Hotel, with its polished steel and glass, looms high in the Streeterville neighbourhood. The 52-storey tower by Solomon Cordwell Buenz pairs sustainable architecture with sweeping city and lake views. While built a decade ago, the stylish hotel maintains its contemporary chic vibe visible in the public spaces, dining areas like the relaxed lobby lounge and its breakfast nook, ETA Restaurant + Bar. It is close to public transit or within walking distance to Chicago landmarks from Navy Pier and the Chicago Riverwalk to the Museum of Contemporary Art and 360 CHICAGO. Shop along the bling big Magnificent Mile and later drop off the bags in these spacious rooms for more retail therapy. loewshotels.com/chicago-downtown
Eating Europe food and wine walking tours have been introducing visitors to hidden gems and earning five-star reviews since 2011. Highlights: Taste buttery pastries in London’s Borough Market or wander through Le Marais on the Morning in Paris tour as bakers pull the first baguettes from centuries-old ovens. On the Florence Sunset Food & Wine Tour, visit a cantina where Tuscan wines are poured straight from massive oak barrels and a tiny family-run trattoria where nonnas still make pappardelle by hand. In Portugal, taste fresh-caught seafood on the Undiscovered Lisbon Food & Wine Tour. Free cancellations up to 24 hours before your tour begins. EatingEurope.com
Calling all granola lovers and Breakfast Club fans—Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle has a total foodie sleepover. Start your morning at The Mizzen, where a retro wall of fame surrounds the breakfast station, including a gem of a selfie spot with The Breakfast Club movie poster. Dine sky-high at the Michelin-starred Don Alfonso 1890, or refuel post-workout in the lobby lounge with a local craft beer and clubhouse sandwich. With its new spa Damara, get your spa bliss, and prepare to shed the carbs as this lakeside hotel has a fitness centre, tennis and a pickleball court, a family funzone and a large indoor lap pool and hot tub. Inquire about their weekly wellness programs ranging from meditation to yoga classes. marriott.com/en-us/hotels/yyzwi-the-westin-harbour-castle-toronto/overview/
The German city of Leipzig is marking the re-opening of its oldest coffeehouse, Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum. For more than 400 years this cherished institution in the heart of the old town has attracted famous composers, writers and politicians for coffee, pastries and conversation. In the 1700s, Coffe Baum inspired regular patron Johann Sebastian Bach to compose his Coffee Cantata. The leader of the French Republic, Napolean Bonaparte, was known to pop in for coffee and Saxon specialties. Order a sweet Leipziger Lerchen with your coffee or stay for lunch and enjoy a coriander-flavoured Gose beer with Leipziger Allerlei, a famous veggie hodgepodge with crayfish. leipzig.travel
Soar above the ordinary at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s newest food and wine destination. Stone Eagle Winery, set on a 14.5-hectare luxury estate, was founded by the sisters behind award-winning Two Sisters Vineyards. Experience the dramatic tasting bar and panoramic terrace. Seven private tasting rooms and a ballroom are ideal for intimate gatherings or a grand celebration. An on-site restaurant serves Mediterranean-inspired seasonal fare designed to complement the estate’s five sustainably crafted Ontario wines. Two have already been recognized at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Sign up for an expert-led food and wine-tasting experience. Stone Eagle is located minutes from premium hotels, charming inns and Niagara attractions. StoneEagleWinery.com
Mark McMorris, one of the most celebrated athletes in snowboarding history, is the new KLM Royal Dutch Airlines ambassador for Canada. The Regina-born Olympic champion has travelled the world to compete and inspires youth to find their passion through sport. Through the McMorris Foundation, he and his brother Craig have helped more than 4,000 children access sports equipment and travel. McMorris’ values resonate with KLM’s Travel Well trademark. “Every trip, every flight, every road has a purpose,” he says in his first KLM video. “To grow, to learn and to connect.” KLM.com
Book lovers with a taste for travel are invited to Portugal’s Alentejo region for a unique literary experience. The region has launched a network of literary-themed hotels, including 12 in towns such as Vila Viçosa and Beja, where guests can enjoy luxury accommodation, savour wine and culinary tastings and dive into literary programming, from author readings to workshops. Another 16 literary routes guide visitors through the landmarks, towns and tales that inspired Alentejo’s literary greats like Manuel da Fonseca, Nobel laureate José Saramago and Mariana Alcoforado of Beja. Visitalentejo.pt/en/blog
Nova Scotia’s celebrated Fox Harb’r Resort is redefining luxury golf in Canada with a multimillion dollar expansion to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The highly anticipated Ocean Course is now complete, designed by renowned architects Doug Carrick and Tom McBroom. Its expertly crafted shoreline holes offer both a challenge for players and a showcase of Nova Scotia’s natural beauty. The expansion also includes a luxury spa. Set along Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore, Fox Harb’r was founded by Tim Hortons co-founder Ron Joyce and is now led by his son Steven. Foxharbr.com
Meet Santa Claus and get up close with real reindeer when you take LOT Polish Airlines’ new twice-weekly flight from Warsaw to Rovaniemi, the capital of Finland’s northern Lapland region. Not only is this architect-designed city Santa’s official hometown year-round, but the Arctic Circle runs directly through its central square. Snowy outdoor adventures include cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. Rovaniemi’s location also makes it an excellent spot to witness the aurora borealis. Although winter plunges this northern city into polar darkness, Rovaniemi invites visitors into its many cosy cafés and restaurants to sample local specialties. The 2:45-hour LOT flight from Warsaw is available until Feb. 1. Lot.com
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 35 minutes north of Toronto, is slated for a nearly $50 million investment from the Ontario government over the next three years. The funds will be used to expand and update the 70-year-old building, home to one of Canada’s largest art collections. New exhibition Stan Douglas: Tales of Empire explores colonialism. McMichael’s permanent collection contains more than 7,000 artworks by Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven plus First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists and their contemporaries. The gallery is located in the village of Kleinburg, known for its small-town charm. McMichael.com
Celebrate the holidays at Ottawa’s National Gallery of Canada. From Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, take part in activities for all ages. Create a glow-in-the-dark painting with oil pastels in the Open Studio or hear your voice transformed into music and light in the Scotiabank Great Hall. Until March 8, the exhibition Winter Count: Embracing the Cold celebrates winter from the perspective of Indigenous artists, Canadian settlers and the Europeans who inspired them from 1800 to the 1950s through objects, paintings, sculptures and works on paper. The NGC is also featuring the art of six regional finalists shortlisted for this year’s Sobey Art Award. The winner was announced Nov. 8. For last-minute gifts, visit boutique.gallery.ca.
Travel expert Cynthia David provides updates on the tourism industry in this curated collection that appears in every issue.
