Top 10 places you really must visit
TOP 10 PLACES FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ’ 52 PICKS OF DESTINATIONS TO INSPIRE, DELIGHT AND MOTIVATE YOU TO EXPLORE THE WORLD
1. WASHINGTON
Suffragists are remembered, and a culture and dining scene blooms.
One hundred years ago, on Aug 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, and American women had won the right to vote. In Washington, institutions like the Library of Congress, the National Museum of American History and the National Archives Museum have long-running exhibitions either under way or planned to commemorate the milestone. (Admission to all three is free, as it is to most of the city’s museums and monuments.) In a US election year of perhaps unprecedented political angst, some might find visiting the American capital fraught. But in recent years Washington has watched its already-rich culture and dining scene blossom, offering a vast menu of fresh sights and tastes. Away from the halls of government, Washington presents a diverse identity as a majority-minority black city and a cosmopolitan crossroads where American society blends with international influences. The U Street area, sometimes referred to as Black Broadway, is packed with historic theatres and concert halls where jazz flourished and go-go music was pioneered. Beyond a small but growing set of pricier Michelin-starred restaurants, the district has also seen a younger, forward-thinking crop of restaurants emerge, with Ethiopian and Lao food well represented. Even as a modern, home-grown and ever-changing culture percolates below the surface, though, Washington holds to its historical ideal of a city built on a common heritage — a place for all Americans to reflect on a shared identity, even in a contentious election year.
— ZACH MONTAGUE
2. BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
An island chain devastated by hurricanes rebounds.
Hit by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the British Virgin Islands have been slow to recover. But this year, a number of resorts will reopen, including Rosewood Little Dix Bay, the iconic resort originally developed by the conservation-minded Laurance Rockefeller in 1964 and was under renovation when the storms hit; it is set to reopen in January. On Norman Island, planned developments for 2020 include three hotels, a marina and an observatory. Offshore, the ship William Thornton, which once housed the floating bar known as Willy T, was damaged and is now part of an artificial reef, but a new vessel has replaced it. Many properties have a new environmental focus. Necker Island, the private island owned by Richard Branson, will finish rebuilding by April, and it will introduce uniforms made from recycled plastic found in the ocean; in 2019, the resort installed wind turbines that have enabled it to run on up to 90% renewable energy. This summer, the Bitter End Yacht Club will open a new marina using recycled materials and a market to provision boat crews; accommodations are
scheduled to follow in the fall. Cooper Island Beach Club on Cooper Island, a 15-minute water taxi ride from Tortola, plans to offer packages combining island stays with emissions-free sailing trips aboard a new electric-powered yacht from Voyage Charters.
— ELAINE GLUSAC
3. RURRENABAQUE, BOLIVIA
A new protected area invites visitors to see rare wildlife.
The small town of Rurrenabaque is the gateway to a lush and thrillingly beautiful part of northwestern Bolivia that offers a twofer for tourists passionate about supporting efforts toward sustainability and protecting endangered species. Bolivia just won an award for best green destination from World Travel Awards for its efforts in making this entire region — packed with roaring waterfalls and rare wildlife, and home to many indigenous groups — sustainable while starting programmes for eco-tourism. Here visitors will find Madidi, one of the world’s most biodiverse protected areas, and Rhukanrhuka, an area of tropical rainforest and natural grasslands almost as large as Yellowstone. In June, the Reyes municipal government (in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Rainforest Trust) designated Rhukanrhuka a protected area, one that will conserve endangered titi monkeys, pink river dolphins and other rare wildlife. Go now to take advantage of this newly inviting area before other tourists arrive; the Wildlife Conservation Society has a list of operators it recommends.
— NELL McSHANE WULFHART
4. GREENLAND
Like Iceland, only more vast, more remote and without the crowds (for now).
President Donald Trump’s desire to purchase Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, unleashed jokes and diplomatic strains — and piqued interest in this little-visited island (which counted fewer than 50,000 guests during the first half of 2019). This year, new sustainably focused expedition cruises, some with on-board naturalists and conservationists, are making it easier than ever to explore the least densely populated territory on Earth. Witness the tremendous glacier feeding into the Ilulissat Icefjord, a Unesco World Heritage site, from the MS Fridtjof Nansen. The new hybrid electric-powered ship from Hurtigruten’s cruise fleet, based out of Norway, reduces carbon emissions by 20%. Set course for Northeast Greenland National Park, with its glacial lagoons and shaggy-haired musk oxen, on Lindblad Expeditions’ new ship, the National Geographic Endurance, which won’t have any single-use plastic bottles, cups, straws or stirrers on board. And trek on the Greenland Ice Sheet with famed mountaineer Alex Pancoe off Abercrombie & Kent’s new Ultimate Iceland & Greenland Cruise on Le Boréal, which features an on-board wastewater treatment system. With that mile-thick ice sheet melting fast, and two new international airports slated to open in 2023, the time to explore an untrammeled, intact Greenland is now.
— RATHA TEP