It’s become my practice to arrive at least a day early for a tour or cruise – to take into account any unforeseen travel delays but also to spend at least a day to explore.
With a 6:30 am pick up time for my Wilderness Voyageurs six-day bike tour on the famed Katy Trail 240-miles through Missouri, this wasn’t even an option. So knowing I would be flying into St. Louis (about 25 minutes away from the pick-up), I took the opportunity to have a good portion of a day to explore this history- and culturally-rich city.
My first step is always to seek out a Historic Hotels of America member property because I know staying in a historic hotel will enhance my appreciation for a destination– these properties are integral to a place, even characters that typically play a part in its story, are always architecturally and culturally interesting and can be depended upon to be walking distance or close proximity to the what want to explore.
That was definitely the case for my stay at the 21c Museum Hotel in St. Louis, with a marvelous story, gorgeous architecture, set amid the city’s important historic and cultural structures, and most importantly, a delightful 20-minute walk to Gateway Arch National Park, which was top of my list to see. But it had something more: an important art gallery, that, I learned, is the essence of this hotel brand of six 21c Museum Hotels.
The 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis started its story as a community hub when it opened as a central branch of the St. Louis YMCA in 1926, and this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary and its third anniversary as a hotel.
You might imagine a YMCA as a modest, even institutional structure, but this one was built as an architectural gem.
It was originally constructed by architects Louis LaBeaume and Eugene S. Klein in the Renaissance Revival style as the central branch of the St. Louis YMCA, and was the organization’s largest local branch and a major community hub until 2017. Due to its architectural significance and deep ties to the city, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
21c Museum Hotels revived the 10-story YMCA building, preserving its historic architectural elements like the original indoor pool, billiards room, and gymnasium and reasserting the space’s relevance as a gathering point in the heart of St. Louis. The hotel opened and became an official member of Historic Hotels of America in 2023.
Today, the 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis is a 173-room boutique hotel which is not just a hotel with an art gallery, but houses a major contemporary art museum. It features 14,000 square feet of curated gallery space (much of it in what used to be the basketball court, and open free of charge to the public 24-hours a day (guests have to use their room card in the elevator to access the room floors).
“Infusing the extraordinary into daily life, radical access to contemporary art is the modus operandi of 21c St. Louis,” the notes read. “Dynamic and thought-provoking curated exhibitions reflect the global nature of art today.”
Indeed, I was enthralled by the exhibit on view during my stay, “The Future Is Female”; the current exhibit “Revival: Digging Into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow” is on view through January (https://21cmuseumhotels.com/museum/revival/). (The exhibits typically rotate among the 21c Museum Hotels.)
Paying homage to its YMCA roots, the 10,500-square-foot full-service Locust Street Athletic and Swim Club boasts a stunning, tiled indoor four-lane lap pool you might confuse for a millionaires’ mansion, sauna, steam rooms and offers spa services.
Other features include the Idol Wolf restaurant serving Iberian-inspired dishes; the Good Press Café; a stunning lobby bar, and a lounge with pool table.
The art spills over throughout the building so you never know what you will come upon, causing surprise and delight. Even the staircase between floors is a work of art.
The property is known for its playful, colorful penguin sculptures scattered throughout the public spaces – a feature of the 21c Museum owners. Guests can even request to have one “adopted” and placed in their room during their stay.
The penguins first debuted at 21c Museum Hotel Louisville. 21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson had purchased the sculptures after seeing the joy they evoked from onlookers at the 2005 Venice Biennale public art project. Now perched around 21c Museum Hotels (each 21c has its own flock of penguins in the color that embodies the city’s identity), the playful penguins contribute to the hotel’s mission of making contemporary art more accessible to the public.
And while there is art everywhere and stunning interior design, it is not at all forbidding or unapproachable, but warm and welcoming, even comfortable. You feel very much a part of the “club.” And it is easy to see why 21c Museum Hotel Louisville was named to the Historic Hotels of America’s 2025 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America for a Romantic Proposal – indeed, I spot a bridal couple in an embrace, posing for their photos.
The 21c Museum Hotel also honors its original commitment to community, from its days as the YMCA, collaborating with its neighbors and community partners to ensure the historic establishment’s presence extends beyond its walls. Guests can enjoy poetry evenings, attend artist demonstrations, and support local creators during their stay.
From the hotel, I wander to see the Mississippi River as it winds through St. Louis. I stroll through the Citygarden Sculpture Park on the way to the riverfront – a green area filled with beautifully landscaped lawns, cooling water features including sprinklers for children to play in, and striking sculptures. At the riverfront, you can take a cruise on a 19th-century paddlewheel riverboat or cycle along the river on bike paths that connect Missouri from downtown St. Louis to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a historic Route 66 landmark.
I am bound for the Gateway Arch National Park, coming upon the Old Courthouse, which I realize was the site of the first two trials of the consequential Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850 (see next).
But St. Louis is, no doubt, a sports city.
Besides being integral to St. Louis’ historic and cultural attractions, the 21c Museum Hotel is close by to St. Louis’ key sports destinations that are a big lure to the city: Energizer Park, a 22,423-seat soccer-specific stadium and 32-acre urban sports district in downtown St. Louis; Enterprise Center, an 18,096-seat indoor arena located at 1401 Clark Avenue in downtown St. Louis, that is home venue for the St. Louis Blues professional hockey team and hosts major concerts, family shows, and basketball tournaments. It is also a short ride away from Busch Stadium, the 45,000-seat stadium that is home base for the Cardinals baseball team.
The hotel offers an “Ultimate Cardinals Experience” that includes a $10 Uber credit to Busch Stadium, a 4-pack of local 4 Hands City Wide brews and a $25 credit (per stay) to be used at Idol Wolf or Good Press
Year round there are special packages to meet the mood and the season. Some recent examples:
Celebrate Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed with in-room dining from Good Press café, a rejuvenating spa treatment at the historic Locust Street Athletic and Swim Club, tour the art exhibition and end with a show-stopping Spanish-meets-midwest dinner at Idol Wolf.
Yoga with Art: Beginners are welcome for Hatha Yoga Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:30 pm. (Drop-in passes can be purchased at the front desk at Locust Street Athletic and Swim Club).
Nightcap At The Museum: 21c Museum Hotel guests are invited to join the hotel every night for a complimentary late-night Angel’s Envy Bourbon sip and explore the museum exhibitions as the night winds down. Visit the restaurant bar from 8 pm-late and enjoy a pour with new friends, wandering around the galleries, or cozied up in your room.
There are currently six 21c Museum Hotel locations operating in the United States, managed as part of the Ennismore and Accor collection: Louisville, Kentucky (Flagship); Bentonville, Arkansas; Durham, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Kansas City, Missouri; and St. Louis, Missouri
21c’s chef-driven restaurants and bars highlight the brand’s Kentucky roots – so expect a healthy assortment of Bourbons behind the bar. You can explore the spirits and cocktail programs at: Idol Wolf, 21c St. Louis; Lockbox, 21c Lexington; Metropole, 21c Cincinnati; Proof on Main, 21c Louisville; The Hive, 21c Bentonville
21c Museum Hotel, 1528 Locust St., St. Louis, MO 63103, reservations: 888-831-7077, 21cMuseumHotels.com
A member of Historic Hotels of America since 2023, 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis has been named to these Historic Hotels of America Top 25 Lists:
Historic Hotels of America is a membership organization comprised mostly of independently owned and operated historic hotels but also from some 30 of the world’s major hospitality brands, chains and collections, and from 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. To be selected for membership into this prestigious program, a hotel must be at least 50 years old; been designated by the U.S. Interior Secretary as a National Historic Landmark or listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; and recognized as having historic significance.
These historic hotels have all faithfully maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity. HHA members occupy buildings that date as early as 1651. Many are the site of key events in regional, national, or international history or have played host to famous figures, from heads of state and industry titans to writers and movie stars. Some hotels are also intertwined with the country’s cultural history, either as venues or culinary hotspots. As a historic preservation and hospitality program focused on experiences, Historic Hotels of America supports cultural heritage tourism and sustainability.
(Its sister organization, Historic Hotels Worldwide® is a global collection of more than 300 historic hotels in more than 40 countries, including castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic lodging spanning ten centuries, historichotels.org.)
Historic Hotels of America® is the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation with the mission to increase the preservation, recognition, and celebration of the finest historic hotels in the USA.
For more than 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has led the movement to save Americas historic places. A privately funded nonprofit organization, it works to save America’s historic sites; tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation’s future.
Day 3 of our six-day Wilderness Voyageurs Katy Trail bike tour 240-miles across Missouri is the most scenic, most interesting, teasiest ride, and the most dramatic for what we see. The day starts with pictographs left by the Indigenous people who populated this place for centuries before Lewis & Clark or Daniel Boone ever laid their eyes on this land, and ends with a mirror held up to Missourians, at the State Capital building, where we see Thomas Hart Benton’s stirring “Social History of Missouri” mural.
The 38.7 miles we ride from Rocheport to Jefferson City (Missouri’s capital), is almost entirely flat – a mere158 ft rise, 200 ft. decline. It also turns out to be my favorite part of the Katy Trail – much of it with limestone cliffs and forest on one side and views of the Missouri River on the other.
We set out from the base of the 200-foot high limestone Manitou Bluffs that towers above the bike trail. They were once sacred to Native American tribes and we spot remnants of pictographs.
They are easy to miss, but I am intent to find them (look for the marker that gives the description). Still, I might have missed them were it not for our guide, James Oerding, riding along with me (because I am last – again), who has guided for Wilderness Voyageurs for the past 13 years, pointed them out.
What you do see most prominently is the symbol that looks like the Nike swoosh. Then you look to the right and make out others (there is a placard that shows all the figures to look for). They were like billboards of their time (perhaps saying “We are here”?).
The notes say that Lewis and Clark expedition camped below these bluffs just downstream from here on June 6,1804.
President Thomas Jefferson had made it clear the captains should carefully observe Indians and their way of life and though Clark and others in the expedition were conscientious about recording pictographs, there were no mentions of the pictographs we see here. But the Stephen Long Expedition did make note of these Torbett Spring pictographs in 1819. It is suspected that the Sauk and Fox Indians, who lived in the area until around 1814 and likely were the artists, painted the pictographs . after the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed by.
Needless to say, I linger here awhile, reading the notes, taking photos, so am last and James, our guide, hangs with me. (The Wilderness Voyageurs guides tell us at the outset, “This is your vacation. Ride your own ride” – and isn’t normally a problem with the route on our Ride GPS app and because on this trip, for all but the last night’s stay, we are able to bike from inn to inn without needing to gather in the van to shuttle to our lodging.)
A short distance further, we veer off the Katy Trail for a quarter of a mile to see The Big McBaine Burr Oak Tree, that sits all by itself with no other tree for 1000 feet. From a distance, it is just a tree. But as we get closer, I begin to appreciate just how gigantic it is, and why it is recorded in journals: The largest burr oak tree in Missouri, it is 287-inches around, 90 feet tall with a 13-foot spread, and takes a half-dozen people to wrap their arms around the trunk. It has stood strong for nearly 400 years, withstanding storms, droughts, floods, vandalism, and development and would have been formidable even to Lewis & Clark, who would have traveled within sight of the tree, a half-mile from the banks of the Missouri 200 years ago.
Coming into Jefferson City, we leave the Katy Trail onto a spur and bike up an extraordinary spiraling ramp onto the bridge over the Missouri River (and will return down the ramp the next morning to get back onto the Katy Trail). Riding over the bridge affords dramatic views of Missouri’s majestic State Capitol.
Jefferson City, population 42,838, is the most urban part of our ride – and having just come from such rural areas on the protected carless rail trail, it is a bit of culture shock to be riding on city streets.
The only tricky part is getting to our hotel (the only “modern” hotel of our stay, Courtyard by Marriott), especially because of construction underway. We come down a steep sloping street, once again providing a dramatic view of the State Capital building set at the end.
Once we are settled into the Marriott Courtyard Hotel (the only chain hotel of our trip), James offers to drive us to the State Capital Building, encouraging us to seek out the Thomas Hart Benton Murals that wrap around the walls of the House Members’ Lounge.
“A Social History of the State of Missouri,” Thomas Hart Benton’s famous mural, is more of an indictment than a glorification of Missouri’s history. It was 1934, in the midst of the Great Recession, when Benton got the $16,000 commission – “a prince’s ransom” at the time, equivalent to $300,000 today and more money than the governor earned – and a period of heightened racial tension in Missouri. Completed in December 1936, the state legislators immediately regretted having commissioned it and even considered painting over the murals, but feared humiliating defeats if they admitted their “misjudgment.”
The story of this extraordinary mural is being related to us by the Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the House, Ryan Clearwater, who we chanced to ask if we could visit when we find House Members Lounge locked. He takes us in (through the Speaker’s office, no less), and proceeds to spend an hour with us.
Instead of noble figures, Benton shows ordinary men and women who built Missouri, using real Missourians including his own family, as models for the 200 figures. He also shows its villains.
Instead of noble deeds and historic events, it depicts slaves being whipped and auctioned; a trader giving whiskey to an Osage Indian (he went to Oklahoma to find an Osage Indian to model); a Mormon being tarred and feathered (Missouri expelled Mormons and as recently as 1980s, Clearwater tells us, the state had a statute that it was permissible to kill Mormons); a settler being lynched by Civil War guerrillas while his family is turned out of their burning home; Huck Finn and runaway slave Jim on a raft escaping down the Mississippi River, the Samuel Clemons riverboat off to the side; Jesse James and his gang robbing a bank and a train; and Frankie entering the bar to murder Johnny, who did her wrong.
It depicts Missouri’s transition from frontier to factories, the Civil War to the Great War, people struggling and making due during the Great Depression (a comb with missing teeth as one of the symbols). One section portrays a political rally attended by all but one white man, while a woman on a bench, her back turned away from the rally, changes her baby’s bare bottom (scandalous! Benton’s nephew was the model),
The last scene, In the bottom corner, plainly depicts Tom Pendergast, at the time the boss of Missouri politics, who was so powerful, he is said to have elected his candidate governor in just 30 days and get Truman into the US Senate (a figure very much like Truman is seated in front). Then 2 years after the mural was done, Pendergast went to federal prison for corruption. Benton came back and made a couple of changes – he had to touch up where someone drew Pendergast’s prison number on his suit, and to put clothes on the burlesque dancers in the background.
“Benton put Pendergast in the mural to let every representative and senator and the public know how some got into office,” Clearwater remarks.
The scene with the political rally depicts a black man, the only black man wearing a suit, leaning against a pole. This figure is Jordan Chambers, who was the Black political boss (“Tom Pendergast”) of St. Louis. Some claim that Jordan Chambers wanted to be in mural, he tells us, despite the association with Pendergast’s corruption.
The mural is shocking to see, even today, and you wonder how Benton was able to get away with it.
“The mural got mixed reviews – slavery, tar and feathering, lynching, murder, robbery,” Clearwater notes with an air of understatement. “They had wanted history. When it was unveiled, they talked about painting it over. But they had spent $16,000 and felt they wouldn’t get reelected, so they said, ‘We should learn from past.’” (I wonder if they also calculated that since the murals were locked away in the House Members’ Lounge, few would actually see it.)
It’s 5 pm, when the building normally closes, but Clearwater takes us into the House chambers (he says that because the Senate is still in session trying to complete its business before the term ends, the building isn’t officially closed). It is a stunning, majestic room, with painted glass windows and a stunning mural (the gift of France). Clearwater says they had a $1 million budget for artwork when the building was built (the first two capital buildings burned down; this one is of “Carthage marble” – polished limestone). Missouri has the 4th largest House of Representatives per capita (163 House members and 34 Senate); a part-time position, they meet five months of the year.
I note portraits of Lincoln (“the first Republican,” Clearwater says) and Jefferson (“the first Democrat,” Clearwater says, but Jefferson was actually a Democratic Republican who advocated for states rights, agrarian interests and strict construction of Constitution, so also Republican; Franklin D. Roosevelt is probably the first modern Democrat).
The partisan animosity is practically built into the room. The center aisle is the width of “two swords”; the 7,000-page rule book includes such provisions as the member has to ask permission to speak, no member shall rattle their spittoon while another is talking, no one can intercede the line of debate.
Festooned around the room are the values these legislators are supposed to espouse for the state: Enterprise, Progress, Honor. Truth. Virtue. Temperance. Knowledge. Liberty. Equality. Justice. Fraternity. Education.
By now, Clearwater, the chief of staff to the Speaker of the House has spent about an hour with us, even though only two of us are actually Missouri constituents. He jokes, “I would rather spend time with the public than lobbyist or legislator,” (though upon leaving, I spot a few of them on the way in, and all around the Capitol building, are offices of various unions and industry and trade associations).
It’s after 5 pm, too late to visit the State Museum contained within the building, but we get a few minutes to admire the stunning lobby and dome, surrounded by engravings extolling the state’s (aspirational?) credos:
From our chaise lounges on the sundeck, we watch an ever-changing landscape: vineyards terraced into steep hillsides, imposing mountaintop castles, small villages built around soaring churches, and long stretches of forest and grasslands. We are cruising through Austria’s Wachau Valley on the 190-passenger Viking Tor, one of Viking’s virtually identical “Longships” that ply the Upper Danube between Germany and Hungary.
For our first three days the focus has been on two medieval German Bavarian cities: Regensburg, where we boarded the ship, and Passau. This morning, the Danube itself takes center stage. On and off, Teo, our charismatic cruise director, shares insightful stories and context about the Danube, which runs “from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.” As the longest river in Europe after the Volga and the only one to flow west to east, the Danube has been a major highway for goods and ideas since pre-Roman times.
Landmarks trigger colorful stories. Passing the ruins of Aggstein Castle, Teo tells of an infamous owner, a murderous robber baron who hijacked passing ships and often cruelly “disposed” of the crew and seized their goods. Those vineyards we see? They produce dry white Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and other acclaimed wines, and many vintners still harvest grapes by hand due to the steep terrain.
Gliding through the Wachau Valley in our moving hotel is a magical way to experience this iconic region. Its leisurely pace is the reason my husband and I chose Viking’s “Romantic Danube” itinerary. For us, it offers the perfect mix of curated and free time. Unlike many Danube cruises that spend less than 24 hours in each port, this eight-day/seven-night sailing overnights in each of its three main destinations. This gives us time to experience Regensburg, Vienna and Budapest in the evening when the squares and riverside walks are romantically lit. It also provides ample time to explore on our own, relax in a cafe, and join some of Viking’s optional excursions (at added cost), which range from e-bike tours to day trips to nearby cities to a behind-the-scenes visit to the Vienna Boys Choir.
Our trip starts with a flight to Munich where Viking meets our flight and takes us to the ship, which is docked in Regensburg. As we unpack, we are impressed with the generous storage space tucked into our 205 square foot Verandah Stateroom. In addition to a hanging closet and two three-drawer chests, there are shelves and a safe in the closet and ample space for toiletries in the bathroom. (In addition to Verandah staterooms, there are two levels of suites; 135 square foot French Balcony cabins and 150 square foot, lower-deck Standard Staterooms with a sealed-shut clerestory window.)
We’re tired, but we head out to get a sense of this frozen-in-time medieval city whose town center was larely spared by WWII bombs. A short walk along the river takes us to the graceful Stone Bridge. We dip into the small Bridge Tower Museum, whoseeasy-to-follow timeline for the region serves as a great grounding for the rest of our cruise.The nearby Historische Wurstkuchl dates back to its days of feeding the bridge’s 12th-century construction workers and its homemade mustard and sauerkraut-topped sausages have been described as “the best of the wurst”.
Back on board, we learn that cookies and local pastries are on tap 24/7 at coffee/tea stations near the library, and that meals are served both in the full-service dining room and, buffet-style, in the indoor/outdoor Aquavit Terrace.Each meal brings a selection of regional specialties and international dishes, and every evening the chef explains the featured local fare. This evening’s choices include a tasty Bavarian potato soup, pork tenderloin and sauerbraten. After dinner, several of us follow the twisty medieval streets up to the soaring Gothic St. Peter’s Cathedral.
On our walking tour the next morning, we see evidence of Regensburg’s long history; the remains of a Roman wall and the Porta Praetoria from 179 AD and its Old Town Hall, dating back to 1245. Most of the historic city center was built from the 12th to 16th century during Regensburg’s heyday as a prosperous trading center. We’re told residents are still proud of the city’s status as a self-governing Free Imperial City during the time of the Holy Roman Empire, and that for nearly 150 years, it was the venue for the Perpetual Imperial Diet, the Empire’s standing congress.
An ancient tombstone with Hebrew writing strangely built into the side of a house catches our eye. Our guide explains that Jewish people in Regensburg were welcomed with protected status until 1519 when their protector, Emperor Maximilian 1, died in the midst of a severe economic downturn. The entire Jewish community was forced into exile overnight. Their homes were looted, their cemeteries desecrated, and their tombstones used as building material around the city. The site of the 1519 synagogue is now a memorial park.
Our walking tour ends at St. Peter’s Cathedral, which boasts the world’s largest hanging organ. Between May and October, weekday visitors can join its noon meditation, accompanied by the organ. I spend our free afternoon exploring the town and the excellent Bavarian History Museum. Departure time is 6:45 p.m., and after dinner, we enjoy a musical soiree of operatic arias enacted in full costume by local performers. It feels privileged and quirky to have such quality performances in the ship’s lounge.
The next morning, we awake in Passau, the “City of Three Rivers.” Here, we see the Inn, pale green from the Alpine glaciers, the River Ilz, nearly black from the peaty Bavarian countryside, and the brown-green Danube (it turns blue farther east). Once again, we are pleased to be docked right in the historic town center.
One of the first stops on our walking tour is a giant vertical ruler that marks the height of the flood waters at various years. To this day, on streets near the Danube, the ground floors must be quickly cleared when flood waters are expected to rise. Interestingly. this lower part of the city is a trendy art district. We wind our way through quaint narrow streets up to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, whose onion dome and towers dominate the skyline. It has the world’s largest Cathedral pipe organ which, though under restoration, still sounds quite powerful.
That afternoon, I join Viking’s optional four-hour e-bike tour. We cycle through a lively park but soon have the riverside paths to ourselves and peddle to a quaint Austrian inn where we stop for drinks and pretzels before heading back.
Our scenic cruise through the Wachau Valley includes a stop at the vineyard-surrounded Gottweig Abbey, a Benedictine monastery founded in 1083, and sample local wines raised on its lands. Back on the Viking Tor, we enjoy a formal afternoon tea as our executive chef teaches us to make apple strudel and shares his recipe.
We arrive in Vienna in time to enjoy a “Viking privileged access” musical highlight of our trip—the vivacious 21-year-old conductor, composer and violinist Alma Deutscher presenting works by Strauss, Mozart and her own compositions at elegant Strauss House, where Johann Strauss once lived and performed.
We are excited to have two full days in Vienna ahead of us. Our guided tour of the city starts at the Ring Road that cradles the historic center. This grand boulevard, home to the Vienna State Opera House, the Rathaus (City Hall), Parliament and Hofburg Palace, replaced the former medieval walls in the mid-19th century.
Our first stop is the 59-acre Hofburg Palace complex, once the winter residence of the Habsburgs. Horse-drawn carriages clip-clop through its main square and the Vienna Boys Choir and Lipizzaner stallions still train and perform here (Viking offers behind the scenes visits to both) while monumental museums showcase the Habsburg’s immense wealth, power and legacy. That evening, we head out with some new friends to retrace our steps on foot and enjoy seeing the elegant Baroque, Art Nouveau and Neoclassical architecture dramatically lit at night.
Before heading out the next morning, we join Captain Lukas Hacunda for a wheelhouse talk about the unique challenges of navigating the Danube and its many locks and see how the wheelhouse tucks down into the ship when necessary to pass under low bridges.
Belvedere Palace, the opulent 17th century home of Prince Eugene Savoy, offers the chance to see world’s largest collection of works by Gustav Klimt, including the “Kiss,” so we decide to spend our afternoon there. Its gilded rooms provide the perfect setting for the works of Klimt, Monet and many other great artists, and its lovely formal gardens are an unexpected delight.
As we sail to Budapest that evening, Bratislava Castle appears, bathed in light, towering over its city. Later that evening, Teo’s unforgettable presentation on “Growing up in a Communist Country” provides a brief overview of communism in Eastern Europe brought to life by personal stories of his life as a young boy in Romania. Among the tenets of communist life: “If you see a line, get on it. There will be something you can use or trade.”
We dock in Budapest near the historic Széchenyi Chain Bridge that connects the Buda and Pest sides of the city. Our city orientation starts with a bus tour that swings by the grand main streets and monuments on the Pest side of the city and then crosses the Danube and delivers us to the Buda Castle Quarter for a walking tour.
That afternoon, we reserve tickets to visit the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. The Moorish Revival style complex we see today was built in 1864; the temple seats nearly 3,000 people and resembles a church in its ornate decor and layout. Our guide explains that is because it was built by a “neologue” reform sect of Judaism that emphasized assimilation. In fact, until WWII, Budapest had no ghettos.
That changed suddenly in 1944, when Germany forced them into ghettos and deportation and an estimated 500,000 were murdered in just 56 days. The complex has a poignant burial ground, a museum, and the Raoul Wallenberg Holocaust Memorial Park with its weeping willow sculpture bearing thousands of leaves with the names of Hungarian victims.
A second Holocaust memorial, “The Shoes on the Danube Promenade” is a haunting array of 60 pairs of scattered cast-iron men’s, women’s and children’s shoes, marking an area where thousands of Jewish people were forced to remove their shoes before being shot and tumbling into the river.
We end our day at a happier historic site, the Veli Bej Bath, which harkens to the 16th century when Budapest was part of the Ottoman Empire. Still popular with locals, its domed octagonal central pool is surrounded by smaller pools of varying degrees of heat fed by natural thermal springs and a selection of sauna and steam baths. Locker rooms are basic, but the timeless baths feel exotic and indulgent.
We return to the ship for a farewell dinner where regional menu choices include chicken paprikash with potato dumplings and a yummy dessert of strawberries, caramelized pistachios in sweet Hungarian Tokaji wine sauce. After dinner, we set off with new friends on what has become our ritual evening walk. Soon, we are at Andrássy Avenue, the Champs-Élysées of Budapest. As we stroll along the grand boulevard, admiring the ornate details of the elegant Renaissance Revival architecture and delighting in our new-found friendship, we agree that our cruise has been all we’d hoped for and more.
The Basics: Prices for the seven-night “Romantic Danube” cruise start at $2,399 and include one excursion in each port, beer, wine and soft drinks with meals, port fees and taxes, and on-board lectures and entertainment. Budget extra for airfare, pre- and post- tours, additional excursions, tips, bar drinks, and transfers to and from the ship if flights are arranged independently. With recent flight issues, it’s more important than ever to plan to arrive at least a day early.
Rarely, but occasionally, low or high water levels can make parts of the Danube impassible, necessitating changes in the itinerary or a ship swap (where Viking transfers you and luggage to an identical stateroom and ship on the other side of the impassable section. Ask your travel advisor or Viking to see if your sailing might be affected.
By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
No need to travel to the Vatican Museums in Rome to see Raphael, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to see the Dutch Masters, or the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris to see Paul Klee, because you can see these artists’ works right here in New York City this summer. Good news for the many who are opting for a staycation this year because we have an abundance of cultural riches, world-class attractions and institutions on our doorstep. And some of the best events and exhibits marking America’s 250th are here too. Here’s what’s on view this season in New York City:
Cultural Exhibitions, Festivals and Performances
Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaursat the American Museum of Natural History Manhattan: Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs takes visitors back 66 million years to the Cretaceous Period, exploring life before and after the asteroid strike that caused mass extinction. Featuring life-size models, fossils, touchable exhibits and immersive media, the exhibition reveals how dinosaurs, marine reptiles and other species vanished, as well as how the event set the stage for the rise of mammals and, eventually, humans.
Unrolling Eternity: The Brooklyn Books of the Dead at The Brooklyn Museum | Prospect Heights, Brooklyn: For the first time, visitors can see one of the only complete and gilded Books of the Dead, carefully restored over three years by the Brooklyn Museum’s conservation team. The 21-foot papyrus, displayed with early Books of the Dead and related artifacts, reveals ancient Egyptian burial practices, artistic mastery, and the story of its original owner, Ankhmerwer.
The Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan has two major exhibits underway:
The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution (through 2026): Marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, this major exhibition—developed in partnership with the Gotham Center for New York City History—transforms the Museum’s entire third floor into a 7,000-square-foot immersive journey through Revolutionary-era New York. Framing the Revolution as a story of civic choice and consequence, the exhibition underscores how decisions made by New Yorkers 250 years ago continue to reverberate across the city and the nation today. Trace New York’s pivotal role in the conflict, from the first sparks of rebellion in 1763 to its emergence as the new nation’s first capital in 1790. A crucial strategic site for both the Patriots and the British, New York’s revolutionary experience comes vividly to life through historical objects, multimedia installations, and interactive environments. The Occupied City tells the powerful and complex stories of revolutionaries and loyalists, enslaved and free Black New Yorkers, women, Native peoples, and others who shaped and were shaped by this turbulent time. The exhibition highlights the resilience of New Yorkers, who endured seven years of British occupation, devastating fires, and violent battles, only to emerge as residents of the nation’s new capital. Dee the Revolution not as a distant myth, but as a lived—and deeply contested—urban experience (https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/occupied-city).
He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model(through August 2026):This exhibition celebrates the extraordinary handmade vision of Queens-born artist Joe Macken through a monumental 50-by-27-foot model of New York City crafted over 21 years. Presented for the first time in New York, the installation offers a richly detailed, artistic interpretation of the city’s skyline, neighborhoods and built environment (https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/he-built-city)
Frida and Diego: The Last Dream at The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown Manhattan (through Sept. 12, 2026):MoMA will present a focused exhibition of key works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from its collection in a gallery design inspired by the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego. Featuring paintings, drawings and iconic portraits, the show explores their artistic partnership and lasting influence as a dialogue between visual art and performance.
Raphael: Sublime Poetryat The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue, Manhattan (through June 28, 2026) is the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition of the Italian Renaissance master, showcasing over 200 paintings, drawings and tapestries that highlight his unmatched creativity and poetic sensibility. Spanning his career from Urbino to Florence and Rome, the show reveals his innovations in portraiture, religious imagery and the portrayal of women, offering a singular look at works rarely seen together.
The Jewish Museum is presenting two major exhibitions this summer:
“Portrait of Solomon Isaacs,” by John Wesley Jarvis, c. 1813, among the portraiture, artifacts, and documents on view at The Jewish Museum’s “Circa 1776: Jews in Colonial America” exhibit (The Jewish Museum)
Circa 1776: Jews in Colonial America, presented in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, explores themes of Jewish life throughout colonial and post-colonial America. This installation, located in a focus gallery on the Museum’s third floor, highlights a selection of works in the Museum’s collection and is displayed as a complement to Identity, Culture, and Community: Stories from the Collection of the Jewish Museum. (Through Aug. 9, 2026)
Paul Klee: Other Possible Worldsmarks the first American museum show to focus on the artist’s powerful late work, produced during his last, unsettling decade of life until his death in 1940. The exhibition features some 100 paintings and drawings, among them select works from Klee’s earlier practice, including his rarely exhibited and iconic Angelus Novus (1920), called the “Angel of History” by German philosopher Walter Benjamin.
Big things are happening at the New York Historical this summer:
Old Masters, New Amsterdam: Four hundred years ago, the Dutch founded New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, a moment brought vividly to life in this unique exhibition. Featuring works by Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Jan Steen, many never before seen in New York, the show uses Old Master paintings to immerse viewers in the world of the city’s earliest settlers (though Aug. 30).
Opening in the Joyce B. Cowin Women’s History Gallery on Friday, May 29 and running through October25, 2026, New York Historical’s new exhibition Revolutionary Women dives deep into the stories of the women who left indelible marks on the fight for—and even against—independence and who helped create the foundations of a new government. Liberty, equality, and independence were key bywords for that emerging nation. But who did these concepts apply to? Revolutionary Women attempts to provide answers and deepen the history we all think we know with letters, poems, petitions, archeological objects, paintings, household objects, and more from our Patricia D. Klingenstein Library collection.
Its Tang Wing for American Democracy at The New York Historical opens June 18, a 71,000-square-foot expansion of its exhibitions and education and public programs. Dedicated to the nation’s founding principles, the new wing will increase student participation, add major galleries and research facilities and serve as the future home of the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
About Us: The American Imaginaryat Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, (through December 6, 2026):This exhibition explores three perspectives on what it means to be “American” through photographs curated by three Terra Foundation fellows from the local community. Spanning the mid-19th century to 1979, it presents intimate and poetic interpretations of family, migration, fame and identity to highlight how American art reflects both personal experience and shifting cultural contexts.
Carol Boveat Guggenheim New York (through August 2, 2026):This exhibition is the first major museum survey of American artist Carol Bove, spanning 25 years of work from early drawings to her colossal “collage sculptures” in scrap metal and steel tubing. Through her innovative use of material, scale, color and space enhanced by design interventions in the museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda, Bove creates immersive experiences that engage both cultural histories and the viewer’s imagination.
Whitney Biennial 2026at The Whitney Museum of American Art, Meatpacking District, Manhattan:The 82nd edition of the Whitney Biennial brings together work by 56 artists, duos and collectives exploring contemporary life through themes of relationality, from family and technology to ecology and geopolitics. Shaped by a moment of profound transition, the exhibition emphasizes mood and atmosphere, offering immersive environments that reflect the complexity and contradictions of the present.
The Museum of Broadway: Walk through Broadway’s history, starting in 1732 with the first documented performance in NYC, and go backstage with your favorite Broadway stars to learn how a show is made. As you walk the timeline, you’ll come upon exhibits dedicated to groundbreaking moments in Broadway’s history – those that pushed creative boundaries, challenged social norms, and paved the way for those who would follow. The Museum of Broadway was designed by internationally renowned artists, designers, and theatre historians. The special exhibit on view “So in Love…on Broadway,” (145 W. 45 St., https://www.themuseumofbroadway.com/)
The National Museum of the American Indian, located in the historic Alexander Hamilton US Custom House at One Bowling Green in lower Manhattan, is a Smithsonian Institution museum affiliated with the Washington DC museum. The ongoing exhibition, Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian consists of 700 works of Native art from throughout North, Central, and South America demonstrating the breadth of the museum’s renowned collection and highlighting the historic importance of these iconic objects (free admission).
Intrepid Air & Space Museum: Experience the world’s first space shuttle, a nuclear weapons-carrying submarine, dozens of military aircraft, a supersonic spy plane, and the world’s fastest commercial airliner displayed in, around and aboard the legendary aircraft carrier, Intrepid, anchored on the Hudson River, along the Hudson River Greenway (https://intrepidmuseum.org/).
One of my favorite places for summer respite in the city is the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in the historic Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (the main branch of the NYPL). It is a renowned Beaux-Arts landmark guarded by the famous marble lions, Patience and Fortitude, housing world-class research collections and the magnificent Rose Main Reading Room and always has fascinating exhibitions, including its ongoing Treasures. If you are lucky, you can hook up to a docent tour. Free one-hour guided building tours are offered Monday-Saturday (reserve Schwarzman Building Tours online) (free admission, nypl.org).
New Museums Opening
National Urban League’s Urban Civil Rights Museum,Harlem, Manhattan, is opening in June:The museum, which will be housed in National Urban League’s new Harlem headquarters, the Urban League Empowerment Center, will be the first in the northern U.S. dedicated to the American Civil Rights Movement.
Ellis Island Museum is reopening mid-2026 after undergoing a $100 million revitalization that includes reimagined exhibitions, new theaters and major technological upgrades. Construction is underway on the Family History Center, which will be renamed the Records Discovery Center and feature a mini-theater, interactive discovery stations, temporary displays and 50% more public research stations. The project will also expand the Records Discovery Center, increasing the searchable records in its database from 65 million to 154 million.
The People’s Theatre: Centro Cultural Inmigrante, Inwood, Manhattan, opening later this year, will spotlight NYC’s immigrant communities through theater, music, dance and community events. A partnership with NYPL for the Performing Arts will provide programming throughout the season connected to its productions.
The Hip Hop Museum, South Bronx, is opening this year:Located just south of Yankee Stadium, this space will pay homage to the South Bronx’s rich culture and history as the birthplace of hip-hop.
Staycation on Governor’s Island
For an extraordinary staycation, take the 15-minute ferry ride to Governor’s Island. Just 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, the 172-acre island is a world away. (Insider’s tip: Governor’s Island affords front-row views of America’s 250th, July 3-8,as tall ships and vessels sail through New York Harbor.
You can rent bikes, pedal coaches, visit the 200-year old Castle Williams, a 22-acre National Monument managed by the National Park Service and learn its history (it helped save New York from British Invasion during the War of 1812 and was used as a prison during the Civil War and Fort Jay. The island had been a military base – my father was based there during World War II, and now is a Coast Guard headquarters). Biking around the island, you have the best view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. A key area is The Hills, rising 70 feet above sea-level, offering breathtaking – and never-before-seen – views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.
Collective Retreats, based in Colorado, operates a luxury glamping retreat with tents and tiny-home-style accommodations, enhanced with morning yoga; spa offerings at QC NY (located adjacent to Retreat); live music every evening; cocktail hour on the sunset terrace; chef-driven farm-to-table dining; and Historic Governor’s island adventuring by bike. (https://www.collectiveretreats.com/governors-island/
QC New York, the Italian spa on Governors Island, is presenting new sunset DJ series, Friday and Saturday nights through September 5; pop-up poolside beauty bar, June 17-July 15 (complimentary self-care treats such as soothing eye patches, tan-boost gummy bears, and vitamin-rich orange juice. Its on-site Casa QC Bistrolaunches full-service dining, daily 6–9 pm, sunset aperitivo offering a complimentary tray of seasonal Italian snacks with the purchase of two drinks (qcny.com).
Governors Island is open to the public daily year-round (pay attention to the ferry schedule). From Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend, the Island is open from 7am-10pm Sunday through Thursday and 7am-11pm Friday and Saturday, with the South Island Park (including Picnic Point, the Hills, Hammock Grove, and the Play Lawns) closing at 6pm. All other times, the Island is open daily from 7am-6pm.
From Manhattan, ferries operated by the Trust for Governors Island run daily from the Battery Maritime Building, located at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan. Click here for schedules and tickets. Evening ferries are available for Governors Island tenants and guests, which includes visitors to QC NY, Island Oyster, Taco Vista, and Gitano. Tickets to evening ferries can only be purchased in person at the Battery Maritime Building (https://www.govisland.com/plan-your-visit/ferry).
The 48th Annual Museum Mile Festival returns to New York City on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, from 6–9 PM. This free event offers complimentary admission to 8 major museums along Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 110th Street, with 12 neighborhood partners adding to the outdoor, rain-or-shine festivities, performances, and art-making activities for all ages. Neighborhood partners include the New York Academy of Medicine, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Asia Society, 92NY, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYC Kids Project, The People’s Bus, and AKC Museum of the Dog, and Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education (https://www.mcny.org/event/museum-mile-festival-2026).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1000 5th Avenue at 82nd St., featuring Raphael: Sublime Poetry, the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition of the Italian Renaissance master.
Neue Galerie New York: 1048 Fifth Ave. (Closed inside; hosting a pop-up table for their 25th anniversary).
Guggenheim Museum: 1071 5th Avenue at 89th St. Featured: Carol Bove, the first major museum survey of the American artist, through Aug. 2
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum: 2 East 91st St. Featured: Made in America, 70 large-format photographs captured by Christopher Payne about industrial and artisanal making.
The Jewish Museum: 1109 5th Avenue at 92nd St. Featured: Circa 1776: Jews in Colonial America, through Aug. 9; and “Paul Klee: Other Possible Worlds,” through July 26.
Museum of the City of New York: 1220 5th Ave. at 103rd St. Featured: The Occupied City and Another Wonderland and He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model celebrates the extraordinary vision and dedication behind one of the most ambitious handmade representations of New York City ever created (timed tickets required).
The Public Theater’s “Shakespeare for the City” 2026 summer season features the return of Free Shakespeare in the Park to the newly revitalized Delacorte Theater in Central Park (Romeo and Juliet, May 22 June 28 and The Winter’s Tale, July 25–August 23. In addition, the Mobile Unit Tour is presenting a traveling production of As You Like It (June 4-28) in parks and community venues in all five boroughs. Information and to request tickets: publictheater.org.
The New York Philharmonic’s 2026 Free Concerts in the Parks series, presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, is scheduled June 9, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx; June 10, The Great Lawn, Central Park, Manhattan; June 11, Cunningham Park, Queens; and June 12, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, plus a free indoor concert at the St. George Theatre on Staten Island on June 14 at 4 pm (free tickets required).
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2026 Summer Recital Series offers free, borough-hopping performances June 8-17 featuring young Met stars performing favorite arias, with major outdoor concerts at Central Park SummerStage and in all five boroughs. The concerts highlight American opera and art song as part of the “United in Sound: America at 250”, featuring artists such as Emily Pogorelc, Joshua Blue, and Edward Nelson. Additionally, the Met’s Summer HD Festival is scheduled for Aug. 22–Sept. 1, on Lincoln Center Plaza, featuring free outdoor screenings of past performances.
2026 Free Summer Recital Schedule
June 8, 7 PM: Williamsbridge Oval (Bronx)
June 10, 7 PM: Socrates Sculpture Park (Queens)
June 12, 7 PM: Jackie Robinson Park (Manhattan)
June 14, 7 PM: Location TBD (Staten Island)
June 15, 8 PM: Central Park SummerStage (Manhattan)
Jazz Age Lawn Party, now celebrating its 21st anniversary in New York City, is taking place June 13 & 14, 2026, 11 am-5 pm on Governor’s Island (there is no August weekend this year). Hop the ferry and be transported in time and place to the Gatsby era, with 1920s hot-jazz, flappers and sporting gents. Headlined by festival host and founder Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra, with a score of entertainers, dance lessons and contests. Tickets at https://jazzagelawnparty.com.
Bryant Park Summer Concerts series, known as Picnic Performances, takes place May 28 through Sept. 11 (most shows start at 7 pm), featuring free live music, dance, circus and theater from jazz, blues and Louisiana Zydeco to fiery Puerto Rican Bomba Fusion to North Indian-inspired vocals, a variety of global talent and culture, with influences from six continents and countless countries. Among the highlights: New York-based orchestra group, The Knights, will perform classical music inspired by American history in celebration of the America’s 250th; three-time Grammy Award-winning soprano, Latonia Moore, celebrates 111 years of Ella Fitzgerald’s timeless music with the New York City Opera, Aug. 7. The season closes with a 25th anniversary commemoration of September 11, with a moving program of classical music and reflections (https://bryantpark.org/activities/picnic-performances).
Little Island‘s2026 summer season at The Amphitheater at Pier 55 in Hudson River Park features an ambitious, eclectic lineup of some 110 performances featuring over 300 artists, spanning music, theater, and dance. Highlights include new musical works, opera, and a marathon tribute night. The 2026 season includes a mix of ticketed and free, walk-up events (check website, littleisland.org).Tickets available through TodayTix (https://www.todaytix.com/nyc/category/little-island).
Key 2026 Season Performances (The Amph):
May 29 – June 15:The Counterfeit Opera: A Beggar’s Opera for a Grifter’s City, a world premiere adaptation.
June 26:The Case of the Stranger by Whitney White, a new song cycle.
July 30 – Aug 3:The Tune Up, a new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks.
Aug 2 – 3:The Lights, a new song cycle by Matthew Aucoin.
Aug 6 – 7: Live radio show and park takeover by Radiolab.
Aug 10: A massive tribute night to composer Arthur Russell, featuring Laurie Anderson and Martha Wainwright.
Aug 22 – 28:Seven Scenes, a new work by choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith with live music by Ringdown. [1]
ANNUAL CELEBRATIONS, BIG EVENTS & ANNIVERSARIES
Noguchi’s New Yorkat The Noguchi Museum, Astoria, Queens, through September 13, 2026: To mark its 40th anniversary, The Noguchi Museum will present Noguchi’s New York, a landmark exhibition exploring how New York shaped Isamu Noguchi’s artistic vision and how he sought to reshape the city in return. The anniversary celebration includes a sweeping survey of Noguchi’s public works and proposals alongside first-ever animated recreations of his unrealized playgrounds and civic projects, bringing his radical ideas for urban space vividly to life.
SailGP 2026, Manhattan, May 30-31, 2026: SailGP is making its return to NYC, marking its sixth stop on the global championship tour. Thirteen national teams will go head-to-head on 50-foot foiling catamarans, soaring across the Hudson River at speeds topping 60 miles per hour. With the skyline as the backdrop, fans can catch every high-speed turn from Governors Island, where the weekend will also feature food, drinks and live entertainment.
FIFA World Cup 26TM New York City and New Jersey, June/July 2026: New York and New Jersey are hosting eight 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, including group stage matches on June 13, 16, 22, 25 and 27; a Round of 32 match on June 30; a Round of 16 match on July 5; and the World Cup Final on July 19. Visitor information including tournament details, trip planning tools and a spotlight on NYC’s vibrant soccer culture can be found at nyctourism.com/worldcup26.
Free Official NYNJ Fan Events Across the Five Boroughs
Queens: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, June 11-27, Daily programming and match viewings
Manhattan: Rockefeller Center, July 6-19, Daily programming; extended hours during Finals Week
BronxTerminal Market, June 13-14, Matchday programming and local cultural programming
Brooklyn Bridge Park, June 13-July 19, Daily programming and match viewings
Staten Island University Hospital Community Park, June 29-July 2, Daily programming and evening match viewings
In addition, Empire State Development, together with regional partners, is supporting two free public viewing events tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, on June 12 at Stony Brook University on Long Island and July 19 at Kensico Dam Plaza in Westchester County. Both locations will be transformed into outdoor community viewing experiences featuring live broadcasts of select tournament matches, interactive soccer programming, family-friendly activities, giveaways, food and beverage offerings, and entertainment.
U.S. Open Golf Championship, New York City Metropolitan Area, June 18-21, 2026: One of golf’s four major championships, the U.S. Open is known for its challenging courses and rigorous competition among the world’s top players. This year’s tournament will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton (www.usopen.com)
Sail4th 250, New York City and New Jersey, July 3-9, 2026: NYC and New Jersey is hosting the capstone events to kick off the 250th anniversary of America’s Independence. From July 3 to 9, the largest-ever international flotilla of ships and vessels will sail into New York Harbor. The celebration will also host many festivities including firework displays by Macy’s, an International Aerial Review with a special performance from the Blue Angels, food festivals, a special Fleet Week (https://sail4th.org/)
25th Anniversary with 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Financial District, Manhattan, September 11, 2026: The 25th anniversary of 9/11 will be commemorated citywide, including the annual Tribute in Light, a public art installation honoring those lost and the enduring spirit of New York. Illuminated from dusk to dawn on September 11, the twin beams echo the former Twin Towers and are visible up to 60 miles from lower Manhattan. (https://www.911memorial.org/)
One of the most fun festivals of the New York City Summer is Fan Week at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, running from Sunday, Aug. 23-Saturday, Aug. 29 during the U.S. Open Qualifying Matches, when you can watch matches, enjoy festive activities, and most fun of all, watch the greatest tennis players practicing, for free. The Qualifying Matches, thrilling to watch in person, take place Monday, August 24 to Thursday, August 27 (https://www.usopen.org/en_US/about/eventschedule.html).
Attractions, Tours & Recreation
“Third Thursday” Museum Tours at the Jackie Robinson Museum, Soho, Manhattan: Join the museum’s guided Third Thursday tours, offered monthly at 1 p.m. and included with admission, to explore highlight artifacts, hear their stories and connect with staff and fellow visitors. The 30-minute tours welcome up to 20 guests, allow walk-ins and encourage packing a lunch to enjoy afterward in the Portrait Gallery. (https://www.jackierobinsonmuseum.org/visit/programs-events/detail/third-thursday-museum-tours/)
One Times Square, Times Square, Manhattan: One Times Square, home of the iconic New Year’s Eve Ball, opened in December as a year-round destination for immersive entertainment and celebrations. A highlight is Times Travel, a multilevel experience that guides visitors through the history of the building, Times Square and the Ball Drop tradition — culminating in panoramic views from a dedicated viewing deck. Additional attractions include the Crystal VIP Experience, Ever for intimate ceremonies and NextGen’s interactive fandom space: all part of a $500 million transformation in the heart of New York City. (https://onetimessquare.com/)
West Village’s Trendiest Bites Tour with NYC Bagel Tours, West Village, Manhattan: Explore the West Village on a bagel-themed walking tour that highlights New York City’s most buzzed-about spots, including PopUp Bagels, Edith’s Sandwich Counter and Apollo Bagels. Along the way, enjoy unique bites like tahini coffee slushies and sourdough bagels while learning the fascinating history of the iconic New York bagel. (https://www.bagelup.com/west-villages-trendiest-bites)
In Dominica, known as “the Nature Island of the Caribbean”, visitors can join rare, responsibly guided encounters with resident sperm whales through Secret Bay’s Swimming with the Whales & Marine Safari (photo: Dominica)
Travelers are increasingly mindful of their responsibility in preserving and protecting the people, the environment, and the ecosystems of the places they visit and are actively seeking out travel entities – transportation, hospitality, dining, attractions, and destinations – that incorporate sustainable, responsible practices.
Here’s a sampling of how cruises and resorts are not just implementing but also modeling conservation, preservation and regenerative practices, while the revenue from tourism helps fund and sustain these programs.
Cruising
Havila Voyages, the Norwegian coastal operator, recently completed a historic 12-day voyage aboard its Havila Polaris, powered by biogas, reducing CO₂ emissions by more than 90%. Combined with the fleet’s advanced battery systems which enable ships to sail for up to four hours with zero emissions, Havila is demonstrating that cleaner, quieter travel at sea is ready to scale for the future. Silent, low-emission cruising allows access to fragile areas like the UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord without environmental harm, while journeys along Norway’s 34-port coastal route connect travelers to authentic communities through more than 70 immersive excursions, from dogsledding to Sámi cultural experiences. Its “Havila Food Stories” program partners with local producers and serves seasonal, à la carte menus that have reduced food waste to just 69 grams per guest per day, cutting more than 60 tons annually. With ships designed for future hydrogen conversion and a goal of fully climate-neutral operations by 2028, Havila Voyages offers a compelling example of how responsible travel and bucket-list experiences, from Northern Lights viewing to the Midnight Sun, can go hand in hand.
The Boat Company donates proceeds from its Alaska expeditionary cruises toward conservation initiatives.
While sustainable tourism focuses on minimizing the impacts travelers have on a community or ecosystem, regenerative tourism goes a step further with a focus on making destinations better than they were. That has been the mission of The Boat Company– one of the world’s only non-profit cruise companies – since its founding 46 years ago. All of The Boat Company’s proceeds (beyond operating expenses) from its week-long expeditionary cruises between Sitka and Juneau through Alaska’s Inside Passage are reinvested back into conservation initiatives (theboatcompany.org, 360-697-4242).
At Finolhu in the Maldives, guests can join the Coral Reef Propagation Project, ocean clean-ups, Citizen Science programs and megafauna dives (photo: Finolhu)
Set within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Baa Atoll in the Maldives, Finolhu, a Seaside Collection Resort is committed to safeguarding one of the world’s most delicate and vibrant marine ecosystems. Designated a UNESCO Biosphere reserve in 2011, Baa Atoll is one of the most biodiverse marine environments on earth – home to over 250 coral species, more than 1,200 fish species, and the world’s largest known aggregation of manta rays at nearby Hanifaru Bay. Its location above a deep ocean channel creates nutrient-rich currents that attract whale sharks, dolphins and sea turtles year-round, making it one of the few places on the planet with this level of protected aquatic abundance. As part of a UNESCO-protected biosphere, Finolhu is largely self-sufficient. Guests can do their part in making a difference by joining the Coral Reef Propagation Project, led by the resort’s resident marine biologist, which aims to rebuild the resort’s reef; ocean clean-ups conducted in partnership with Parley for the Oceans; and Citizen Science programs and megafauna dives, which help track individual animals and contribute to ongoing marine research.
Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlan Golf & Spa Resort plays an active role in conservation through its on-site turtle sanctuary (photo: Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlan)
The first Hyatt-branded property in Mazatlán, Mexico, Dreams Estrella del Mar Mazatlán Golf & Spa Resort, has earned the prestigious Platinum Beach Certification for its sustainably maintained shoreline and partnership with local, environmentally responsible suppliers. The resort has also implemented water-saving technologies including aerators and automatic flushers, energy-efficient systems like heat recovery equipment and LED lighting, reduced plastic use, and landscaping with endemic plants to support local biodiversity. The resort plays an active role in conservation through its on-site turtle sanctuary, where guests can participate in the protection and preservation of these remarkable animals.
Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort, Rivera Nayarit, Mexico, is an eco-conscious, adults-only, all-suite all-inclusive resort.
Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort, Rivera Nayarit, Mexico, is an eco-conscious, adults-only, all-suite all-inclusive resort. Nestled between the golden sands and surf-friendly beaches of Banderas Bay and the lush Sierra Madre Mountains, it offers an unplugged, nature-focused getaway. On property, an organic garden and farm supply fresh herbs, produce, and eggs to the resort’s restaurants, reinforcing its sustainable ethos. The resort also supports the local community through its “World of Care” program, donating food and supplies to Wet Nose Rescue and caring for rescued animals, among them, Joker, the resort’s adopted dog and mascot. In addition, the hotel sponsors a local primary school, with team members supporting students through gifts, monthly visits, and meaningful activities.
El Cielo Resort & Winery pairs luxurious vineyard accommodations with a commitment to sustainable hospitality (photo: El Cielo Resort)
Located in the heart of Valle de Guadalupe, B.C., El Cielo Resort & Winery pairs luxurious vineyard accommodations with a commitment to sustainable hospitality. Guests stay in Tuscany-inspired villas, enjoy farm-to-table dining, and explore the property’s organic vineyards while supporting eco-conscious practices woven throughout the resort experience. Sustainability initiatives include pioneering solar energy as one of the first wineries in the region to install solar panels, cultivating grapes without synthetic pesticides to preserve soil health and biodiversity, and utilizing trained Harris’ Hawks as a natural, chemical-free vineyard protection. The resort also captures rainwater in custom-built reservoirs to support sustainable irrigation and create habitats for migratory birds, alongside additional environmentally mindful touches such as lightweight wine bottles, natural corks, water treatment systems, and LED lighting designed to reduce light pollution.
Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica, known as “the Nature Island of the Caribbean” (photo: Dominica)
Dominica, the “Nature Island of the Caribbean,” continues to lead the way in eco-conscious travel, integrating sustainability into everyday life. Offering a balance of preservation and experience, Dominica is a model for sustainable tourism in action. Visitors can explore the UNESCO-listed Morne Trois Pitons National Park, engage in conservation efforts and discover the island’s rich cultural heritage. Through a blend of community-led conservation, innovative eco-luxury and immersive nature experiences, the island offers travelers meaningful ways to connect with and support the environment. Visitors can take part in hands-on conservation experiences like sea turtle nesting season at Rosalie Bay and join rare, responsibly guided encounters with resident sperm whales through Secret Bay’s Swimming with the Whales & Marine Safari, supported by the world’s first marine protected area dedicated to the species. Across the island, eco-forward properties like Coulibri Ridge and Secret Bay continue to redefine sustainable luxury, complemented by low-impact activities such as guided e-bike tours and cultural experiences like the Roseau History Tour; Sea Cliff Eco Cottages’ offers “garden-to-glass” Cocoa Martini, crafted using upcycled cacao husks in partnership with a local chocolate producer. Dominica also has one of the Caribbean’s most diverse and untouched trail systems. Its annual Hike Fest invites travelers to explore iconic landscapes, from Boeri Lake and Chemin Létang to the legendary Boiling Lake, through guided hikes taking place on Saturdays in May.
Hotel Belmar in Costa Rica’s cloud forest (photo: Hotel Belmar)
High in Costa Rica’s cloud forest where regeneration is visible and measurable, Hotel Belmar is a family-owned icon. Finca Madre Tierra, recognized as Costa Rica’s first carbon-neutral farm, supplies eggs, dairy, shade-grown coffee, sugarcane, and seasonal produce to the hotel. Guests can visit milk cows, learn cheese-making, pick coffee, and press sugarcane, deepening their connection with Monteverde’s agricultural traditions. On property, Belmar closes the loop through composting and a biodigester that turns organics into clean gas, making farm‑to‑table‑to‑farm a daily practice. Sustainability in practice: Belmar’s bio-intensive garden plots feed regenerative dining, garden-to-glass mixology that replaces bottled inputs, a plastic-free bar program, environmentally preferable products, and an air‑dry laundry solarium that reduces energy consumption. Rooms and shared spaces rely on beautifully crafted furnishings, supporting regional makers while celebrating Monteverde’s woodworking heritage and its long tradition of forest-based craft. In the forest, SAVIA employs local forest mobility experts, uses tree-friendly anchoring with high-tension ropes and cables rather than bolts, and offers themed expeditions from dawn birding to nightfall canopy study, creating paid interpretive work while keeping impact light in a rare ecosystem known for exceptional biodiversity.
Guests can also participate in programming like Monteverde Exploration with local guides and farm-to-table experience which generate income to farmers, educators, and naturalists and sends guests home with transferable skills in composting, pickling and planning. Every stay helps to underwrite a year-round economy tied to food, music, ecology, and science, supporting both the local community and the surrounding forest. Multigenerational ties to local farmers, craftspeople, guides, and musicians help sustain the region’s distinctive culture, creating a shared ecosystem of livelihoods that strengthens the surrounding community while helping to protect the cloud forest’s special environment. The hotel’s Artist Residency Program further expands this cultural exchange, inviting artists to spend time on the property and develop new work inspired by the cloud forest (hotelbelmar.net).
Calabash Cove Resort & Spa integrates regenerative, low-impact operations into its boutique, adults‑only experience on Saint Lucia’s coast (photo: Calabash Cove Resort)
Set on a secluded hillside overlooking Bonaire Bay along Saint Lucia’s biodiverse northwestern coast, Calabash Cove Resort & Spa integrates regenerative, low-impact operations into its boutique, adults‑only experience. The resort maintains a strict plastic-free policy, eliminating disposable containers and using recycled-material lunch boxes and biodegradable straws. All hot water is solar‑heated, lighting relies on LEDs, and an on-site water‑treatment plant recycles water for irrigation. Guests receive a free reusable aluminum bottle on arrival, with free still or sparkling water refills throughout their stay to eliminate disposable bottles. Local farms supply produce and seasonal vegetarian and vegan menus highlight Saint Lucia’s ingredients while reducing the footprint of higher‑impact foods. Kitchen oils are collected and repurposed to heat laundry water, further reducing external energy demand.
Sustainability in practice: Closed‑loop practices underpin daily operations. Grass cuttings are mulched and composted, kitchen scraps are sent to a local pig farmer, and rainwater is collected for property use. Timers on pool pumps help reduce energy demand and mosquito fogging has been discontinued to allow local birdlife to flourish. Marine stewardship includes reef and turtle‑protection training led by Saint Lucia’s Fisheries Department, where staff learn to identify nesting periods, safely relocate eggs, and tag previously untracked turtles to support long‑term conservation monitoring. Landscaping is maintained by on‑staff gardeners who prioritize native vegetation and habitats, supporting wildlife that thrives along the cove’s protected shoreline. The resort’s intimate 26‑room scale keeps impact low while enabling meaningful guest participation through beach cleanups, nature-positive activities, and plant-forward dining (calabashcove.com).
Alaia Belize guests can explore the ancient Maya site of Xunantunich on curated, conservation-minded excursions (photo: Alaia Belize)
Set on 20 oceanfront acres on Ambergris Caye, Alaia Belize, Autograph Collection offers an upscale base for exploring one of the Caribbean’s most ecologically diverse destinations. Guests can snorkel the protected Hol Chan Marine Reserve, visit Caye Caulker, and explore the ancient Maya site of Xunantunich, all through curated, conservation-minded excursions.
Sustainable forestry practices at Banyan Tree Phuket, Thailand (photo: Banyan Tree Phuket)
Sustainability and community-driven practices are woven throughout Banyan Tree Phuket, Thailand, nestled between white sandy beaches and coconut groves. Guests can participate in the resort’s sustainable initiatives, such as a visit to the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, sustainable beach cleaning and cooking classes that promote sustainability and community engagement.
Six Senses Laamu is celebrating the impact of its Sea Hub of Environmental Learning marine education and conservation center (photo: Six Senses Laamu)
Six Senses Laamu is celebrating the impact of its Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu, the “SHELL.” This2,336-square-foot marine education and conservation center offers guests and local communitiesimmersive experiences with the local marine environment, including coral regeneration, seagrass conservation, and sea turtle research. Through the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI), the SHELL hosts a dedicated team of marine biologists working with partner NGOs including Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation, and Olive Ridley Project. Together they have grown over 10,000 baby corals across five species, released more than 12 million coral larvae onto the resort’s house reef, and conducted genetic studies of sea turtles.The team has also cataloged over1,000 turtles and 140 manta rays in Laamu Atoll, contributing to scientific research and publications.
Six Senses Kanuhura launched Kanuhura Coral Census (photo: Six Senses Kanuhura)
Six Senses Kanuhura launched Kanuhura Coral Census, thefirst long-term 3D reef monitoring program implemented by a resort globally. It usesadvanced imaging and AI to create living digital replicas of coral reefs, offering a deeper understanding of reef health, biodiversity, and resilience. These insights help guide a more mindful, long-term approach to reef restoration, ensuring that the surrounding ecosystems continue to thrive for generations to come.
Imperial Hotel Kyoto aligns heritage with sustainability (photo: Imperial Hotels)
Imperial Hotels across Japan’s heritage cities – Tokyo, Kamikochi, Osaka, Kyoto – align heritage with sustainability. Imperial Hotel Tokyo has reduced plastics by 87.7 percent versus 2019, reducing 13.9 tons by shifting amenities to bamboo, wood, and biomass and replacing PET with paper cartons; it operates on 100 percent CO2-free electricity and advances circularity through recycling loops that turn coffee grounds into cattle feed and repurchase the resulting milk, while used cooking oil becomes Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The Osaka hotel reinforces circularity by turning kitchen waste into fertilizer and buying back vegetables grown with it and supports EV drivers with charging stations.
Imperial Hotel Kyoto, which opened March 5, 2026 inside the restored Yasaka Kaikan in Gion, preserves its cultural fabric through adaptive repurposing and reusing more than 16,000 tiles to reduce construction impact while sustaining local craftsmanship. The property supports living culture through performances. Craft atelier visits, including an imperial doll workshop, ensure fees reach local artisans. Community engagement includes food education in schools, cleanup activities in Osaka and Kamikochi; disaster support agreements in Tokyo and Osaka provide shelter for stranded residents and travelers. Imperial Hotel Kamikochi runs on net zero CO2 energy using regional hydropower and offsets, encourages refills with a lobby spring water fountain, and has reduced plastics by roughly 90 percent through amenity changes. Conservation work with the Kamikochi Beautification Association supports stewardship of the national park.
The Lake House on Canandaigua is the only hotel in New York State to receive Beyond Green certification (photo: The Lake House)
The Lake House on Canandaigua, a luxury hotel in the Finger Lakes, has earned a Beyond Green certification – the only hotel in New York State to receive the recognition – joining a global portfolio of hotels recognized for advancing sustainability, environmental stewardship and meaningful community connection. Operated by Preferred Travel Group, Beyond Green is a curated collection of hotels and resorts committed to responsible travel worldwide. Member properties are vetted against more than 50 sustainability indicators aligned with the best global practices and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing places where sustainability is deeply embedded in both philosophy and practice (lakehousecanandaigua.com).
One of my favorite things about travel is how you stumble upon revelations – “eureka moments”. One of these came on my Discovery Bicycle Tours’ Coastal Maine trip in which I joined the swelling trend of women traveling solo (bike tours are ideal for this). We stopped at the Seal Cove Auto Museum where the exhibit, “Engines of Change: A Suffrage Centennial.” honored the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. What was so fascinating was learning that the bicycle, and later the car, were instrumental in the movement’s ultimate victory in winning the right to vote because it gave women the freedom and mobility to travel outside their own cocoons and spread the word. (Mobility is inherent in the very word “movement”.)
Another interesting fact: it was Bertha Benz, inventor, business partner and wife of Karl Benz, who, fed up with her husband’s endless tinkering and reticence to take his invention on the road, on August 5, 1888, grabbed her children and became the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance (65 miles) – an astonishing break with social norms of the time.
Indeed, women are powering a growing movement toward solo travel, and travel companies are adapting – not only creating women-only tours and departures, but suspending single supplements on certain departures, or facilitating a shared room (with same-sex person) to avoid paying the single supplement.
Solo travel – dominated by women travelers – continues to surge in popularity, with more travelers jetting off on journeys alone. In the United States, the Solo Travel market, valued at $95 billion in 2024, is expected to reach $192 billion by 2030 according to Research and Markets.
While women-only travel companies developed early on, when women were uncomfortable traveling alone on a trip that likely would have couples or catered to men, as the culture has accepted that women are independent and as women have come to be independent and confident travelers, they have been seeking out the active, immersive, experiential and adventure travel programs that span the world. Now the active and adventure travel companies (hiking, biking and the like) are catering to solo travelers without distinction, though most of solo travelers are women (and women of a certain age).
These programs open up the world to women, who might like to travel alone, but not actually on their own, and immerse in exotic locales and cultures, get as physical as they like or go at a comfortable pace. Places as far flung as Bhutan, Uzbekistan, the Serengeti, Antarctica are no longer out of reach.
“Solo travel doesn’t have to mean traveling alone,” said Terry Dale, president and CEO of United States Tour Operators Association. “Rather than navigating a destination entirely on their own, solo travelers can join guided tours that let them connect not only with the places they visit, but also with like-minded explorers.”
Many members of The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) cater to solo travelers with dedicated itineraries, programming, and waived solo supplements that remove some of the traditional barriers of traveling on one’s own. Here is a sampling of tours tailored to solo travelers by USTOA tour operator members:
G Adventures’ Solo-ish Adventures have reimagined solo group travel by placing community at the core with front-loaded itineraries to encourage quick connection. All of G Adventures’ Solo-ish Adventures are led by female guides and include a “Me Day” for independent exploration. The trips are designed exclusively for solo travelers aged 18 and up – 68 percent of whom are female. “No more worrying about being the odd one out — you’ll be travelling with a community of people stepping out on their own to welcome whatever the world brings their way.” There is an emphasis on providing security and safety to alleviate the main concern about traveling solo – such as complimentary arrival transfer to your first hotel. The tours also offer a discounted My Own Room option. For example, on the 10-day Solo-ish Cambodia tour, travelers trek through the lush jungles of the Cardamom Mountains, dive into the turquoise waters of Koh Rong, and indulge in local cuisine (from $1,349 pp). Other new tours: Solo-ish Sicily (8-days, $1784); Solo-ish Ecuador (7 days, $1049) as well as programs in Bali, Morocco, India, Belize, Morocco, Costa Rica, Mexico, Vietnam, Jordan, Guatemala, Egypt, Turkey, Nepal, Uzbekistan. “Where’s your heart calling you?’ (https://www.gadventures.com/solo-travel-tours/, 877 982 6201 (24/7), https://www.gadventures.com/)
Goway recently launched a line of itineraries designed specifically for women traveling solo. All trips are tailored for female travelers and the price includes a private room. The 12-day Secrets of India: A Women’s Journey traces northern India’s heritage from Delhi to Agra. Travelers are immersed in Indian culture with small group touring, enriching museum and temple visits, a majestic boat ride in Lake Pichola where white marble palaces frame the shore, and a dining experience at Molecule Air Bar which combines gastronomy with theater. Departures are available in October and November 2026 and January and March 2027, priced from $6,785 pp (goway.com).
EF Go Ahead Tours offers curated trips for solo travelers that include a private room at no added cost, plenty of time to explore independently, as well as group activities designed to maximize bonding between travelers. The Ireland for Solo Travelers tour is a whirlwind cultural immersion with visits to Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, and of course plenty of stops at pubs for pints of Guinness. Each activity is designed to maximize bonding between travelers. Departures available through 2028, starting at $3,409 (goaheadtours.com)
For solo travelers seeking value and fewer crowds, Globus offers Escapes itineraries with off-season savings and no single supplement on most of its departure dates. The eight-day Swiss Escape begins with sightseeing in Zurich and Neuchâtel with its medieval cathedrals and castles. Next up, spend a few days soaking in the grandeur of Lake Geneva before heading to Lucerne. The tour concludes in Lugano, the city famous for its blend of Swiss and Italian culture. 2026 departure dates are available in October, November, and December with prices starting at $1,799 (globusjourneys.com)
Abercombie & Kent offers 50% on single supplements for select 2026 journeys. The company’s nine-day Glorious Gardens of England and Chelsea Flower Show journey centers on the world-renowned five-day extravaganza of brilliant blooms and expertly designed gardens. Guests will visit English castles and estates known for their immaculately designed grounds including an exclusive tour of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, where you’ll tour areas typically closed to the public. Departs on May 13, 2026, price starts at $19,193 with single supplement savings (abercrombiekent.com)
More than 70 percent of passengers on Wild Frontiers’ small group tours are solo adventurers. Not only will Wild Frontiers match a solo traveler to share a room (to avoid paying a supplement), periodically the company will reduce or waive the supplement if there is no one to match, and, periodically, waives the supplement on select tours booked (a discount up to 100% of the supplement is presently running through March). Examples: Guatemala: Tikal & Beyond,16 days from $4,478; Mongolia: Nomads Of The Steppe,10 days, from $3954;Tanzania: Safari, Serengeti & Maasai Heartlands,10 days from $5499; Oman Desert Adventure: Wahiba Sands & Empty Quarter, 12 days from $5,451; Viva Colombia, 12 days from $5,375. Also: Georgia and Armenia, experience the Silk Road in China, or go to the other end of the trade route to Turkey.
“Traveling solo rarely means traveling alone. On our small-group tours, you’ll share extraordinary moments with like-minded travelers — then retreat to your own space when you need to reflect and recharge. You can travel as a single traveler on any of our vacations, from our escorted tours to our walking vacations.”(wildfrontierstravel.com, info@wildfrontiers.co.uk)
As it happens, because of demographics, the ardent traveling seniors who join Road Scholars (formerly known as Elderhostel) educational and experiential tours are often traveling solo and of these, a majority are women.
I have loved traveling solo on bike tours, where inevitably I am welcomed into the group, which tend to be small and caring (it could also be something self-selective about bike tour people). Also the ready availability of e-bikes level the playing field in physical ability to tackle hills or distance. Among the companies: Discovery Bicycle Tours (discoverybicycletours.com), BoatBikeTours (boatbiketours.com), Wilderness Voyageurs (wilderness-voyageurs.com). In addition, special experiences like the annual eight-day biking/camping Cycle the Erie trip organized by Parks and Trails NY (ptny.org) afford a phenomenal solo-but-part-of-group experience.
For a similar reason, river and canal cruises aboard small ships and barge hotels are also ideal for solo travelers..
For 2026, Tauck is removing the biggest obstacle to solo travel – the dreaded “single supplement”. Tauck is removing the single supplement on all Category 1 cabins for all its European river cruises (250+ departures in 2026), and offering up to $1,000 off single supplements on higher category cabins. This includes its new Bordeaux, Paris, & The Seine, sailing aboard the newly launched ms Serene. In addition, Tauck is offering single supplement savings up to $600 across more than 100 land journeys spanning Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and North America trips including the new A Week In… Nova Scotia (tauck.com).
Women are embracing solo travel in a big way. Google searches for “solo female travel” jumped 44% in 2025 compared to the year before.
But while more women are eager to explore on their own, safety is still the top priority when choosing where to go especially as global events continue to shape traveler confidence.
InsureMyTrip took a closer look at the safest cities for women traveling solo. Using data from the Numbeo Crime & Safety Index, researchers focused on what matters most to women traveling alone: how safe it feels to walk alone (day and night), and lower risks of mugging, robbery, or physical attack.
The 5 Safest Cities for Solo Female Travelers in 2026
Taipei, Taiwan
Tampere, Finland
Tartu, Estonia
Lugano, Switzerland
Hong Kong
(While Muscat, Oman ranked #2 overall in the data, it has been excluded from this ranking due to the evolving situation in the Middle East. The data was collected prior to the current conflict.)
“Women traveling solo aren’t just looking at things like attractions and affordability, they’re asking, ‘Will I feel safe walking back to my hotel at night?’” said InsureMyTrip CEO Suzanne Morrow. “This ranking really zeroes in on the everyday safety factors that shape how comfortable women feel while traveling solo.”
by Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com
More than ever, travelers are prioritizing meaningful, wellness-focused, experiences, active adventures, and authentic connections with off-the-beaten-path destinations and communities. This is the finding of Backroads, a global trailblazer in active travel since 1979, in its Top Adventure Travel Trends for 2026. The report is based on early guest bookings and insights from its worldwide team of Trip Leaders and Travel Experts representing more than 60 countries across 550 itineraries worldwide.
Indeed, adventure travel is now one of the fastest-growing segments in tourism, with global adventure travel projected to surpass $2 trillion by 2032, according to the Adventure Travel Trade Association. At the same time, wellness-driven trips are accelerating worldwide as travelers seek meaningful, restorative, experience-rich vacations over passive leisure, a finding confirmed by the Global Wellness Institute.
The good news is that travel companies are catering to these trends with programming.
Women and Solo Travelers on the Rise: Across travel, adventures designed for women are surging as friends, family and solo travelers seek connection, immersive confidence-boosting experiences and a sense of community. Backroads bookings reflect this shift, with demand for its Women’s Adventures projected to grow 100% in 2026. The solo travel market is expected to grow 14% over the next five years, with women over 50 a major driver of this momentum. What’s Trending? Backroads England’s Cotswolds, Peru, Canadian Rockies Trips.
Family Togetherness Across the Globe: Prioritizing real-world experiences over screen time, modern families are seeking active vacations that spark connection and create lasting memories. Making the most of school breaks throughout the year, parents and grandparents with kids of all ages are booking adventure travel in record numbers. What’s Trending? Backroads Trips for Families with Kids & Teens, Teens & 20s and 20s & Beyond: Brittany & Normandy, Croatia and Iceland.
Young Professionals Seeking Adventure: Millennial and Gen X travelers are fueling strong growth in adventure travel, driven by a clear desire for active exploration balanced with comfort, camaraderie and iconic destinations. This cohort is also poised to benefit from an unprecedented $27 trillion wealth transfer by 2045, expanding opportunities to prioritize meaningful, experience-driven travel. What’s Trending? Backroads 30s & 40s Trips (small-group luxury trips designed for active and adventure-seeking Gen X and Millennial travelers): Peru Lodge-to-Lodge Trekking, Dolomites Hut-to-Hut Hiking and Santorini & Crete Multi-Adventure.
Nostalgia for Human-Powered Travel: From acoustic (non-electric-assist) biking for traditional cyclists eager to cover the miles using their own muscle power to hiking epic mountains, travelers are slowing down and rediscovering the rewards of moving with their own strength. By staying longer in one region or embracing human-powered adventure in small groups, guests are able to dive deeper into local culture and landscapes. What’s Trending? Backroads Unplugged (non-electric-assist) Bike Tours in Croatia, Portugal’s Algarve, Tuscany and Nova Scotia; Argentina and Chile’s Patagonia Hiking & Walking Tours.
Frontier Islands: Rugged Archipelagos as the New Darling: Moving beyond classic island escapes, travelers are gravitating toward rugged, culture-rich archipelagos, places defined by dramatic cliffs, volcanic ridges, fishing villages and wide-open trails. These “frontier islands” appeal to active travelers seeking big scenery, epic hiking, cooler climates and a sense of remoteness that traditional beach islands can’t deliver. What’s Trending? Backroads Canary Islands, Cyprus, Denmark Islands, Lofoten Islands and Portugal’s Azores Trips.
Trip Stacking, On and Off-Season: Travelers are increasingly “stacking” their journeys by booking back-to-back trips or even three-stop itineraries to maximize a single long-haul flight. This reflects a growing shift toward sustainable, efficient travel, where guests make the most of every mile and every moment away. Off-season exploration is also on the rise, with more travelers heading out earlier in spring, later in fall and throughout the winter for a fresh take on familiar places. Backroads has seen a more than 6% increase in guests booking consecutive trips since the pandemic, with continued growth projected on the horizon. What’s Trending? Backroads Norway, Japan and Spain Trips.
Active Culinary TravelTakes Off: Blending outdoor activity with regional food and wine experiences is a travel style that continues to grow as travelers seek culturally rich, experiential trips. From cooking classes and local farmers market visits to stays at Relais & Châteaux properties, Backroads Active Culinary Trips that unite adventure, flavor and luxury are gaining momentum across key regions. What’s Trending? Backroads Basque Country, Tuscany and Provence Trips.
Sleeping in Huts & Mountain Lodges Is In: Travelers are increasingly choosing mountain lodges and huts and historic hideaways, especially in off-the-beaten-path destinations. Bookings for these laid-back, comfortable stays are surpassing expectations and up more than 170% since 2024, as guests seek accommodations that capture the essence of a place and seamlessly blend activity, discovery, relaxation, sustainability and wellness. Travelers can find these authentic stays on many Backroads trips including Hut-to-Hut and Lodge-to-Lodge offerings. What’s Trending? Backroads Dolomites Hut-to-Hut, French & Italian Alps Lodge-to-Lodge and Pyrenees Lodge-to-Lodge Trips.
“We’re seeing a clear trend of guests using travel as a way to connect with like-minded travelers, with local communities, with the environment and, ultimately, with themselves,” said Tom Hale, Backroads Founder, President and CEO. “Active travel is becoming part of the rhythm of their lives, and they like creating that rhythm on their own terms, now and into the future.”
What does adventure tourism look like in 2026? Active travel blends movement, connection and wellness to create meaningful, authentic vacation experiences. In response to this growing demand, Backroads enters 2026 with new itineraries, new destinations and expanded trip categories, along with anticipated growth of more than 10%, nearly double its post-pandemic pace. Learn more about Backroads at www.backroads.com or call 800-462-2848.
Soft Adventure
Travelers are seeking out accessible, lower-risk activities that cater to a wider demographic, including multi-generational families and first-time adventurers. This demand is strongest for holidays that successfully blend active elements—like hiking, trekking, and biking—with comfortable, enriching cultural experiences. Here is a sampling of “soft adventure” travel experiences:
Boat and Bike Europe: From Amsterdam to Paris: Bike past windmills in the Dutch countryside, sip Belgian beer on a historic square, and enjoy the French capital’s grand boulevards while traveling at a relaxed, enriching pace on Boat Bike Tours’ new 10-day tour from Amsterdam to Paris. Along the way, settle into modern, comfortable accommodations aboard the new Magnifique X barge, with extensions available in both major cities (https://www.boatbiketours.com/tours/through-europes-heartland-between-amsterdam-and-paris/)
Hike and Cruise Turkey: The Carian Coast: Follow the herb-lined footpaths and ancient roads of the Carian Trail on a new, 15-day tour from Peter Sommer Travels. Hike through hills swathed in pine and olive to atmospheric ruins, then enjoy comfortable accommodations and transportation among the deep inlets and secluded coves offshore aboard a traditional, stylish gulet while cruising the beautiful, remote Carian Coast. (https://www.petersommer.com/tours/walking-carian-trail-turkey-extended)
High Andes and Salt Flats: Peru and Bolivia Adventure: Explore the iconic natural and cultural wonders of the Andes on an accessible journey spanning Peru and Bolivia. Traverse the Uyuni Salt Flats, visit Indigenous communities on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and experience historic Incan sites of the Sacred Valley, all from carefully selected, comfortable accommodations that prioritize local authenticity and high quality (https://www.gondwanaecotours.com/adventure-tours/peru-bolivia-from-salt-flats-to-sacred-lakes-adventure/)
Singletrack in the Dakotas: Maah Daah Hey Mountain Biking: Pedal through the wild, rugged terrain of the North Dakota Badlands on the legendary Maah Daah Hey Trail. This guided mountain biking tour covers the most scenic singletrack sections, with full support, catered meals, and comfortable nights spent glamping under the vast, starry skies, offering an immersive national park experience without the crowds (https://escapeadventures.com/tour/maah-daah-hey-singletrack-mountain-bike-tour/)
Dude Ranch with History: Rancho de la Osa, Arizona: Celebrate the centennial of the dude ranching industry in 2026 with a stay at Rancho de la Osa, a ranch welcoming guests for over 100 years. Explore the high desert south of Tucson, Arizona, on horseback, riding trails frequented by U.S. presidents and legends, then enjoy a cool drink in the Cantina, a building that dates to 1722, and put up your feet in colorful Southwestern accommodations (https://www.ranchodelaosa.com/)
Scalesia Lodge: Galapagos Island Basecamp, Ecuador: Located on Isabela Island in the Galápagos, this lodge is designed as a sustainable and stylish base for exploring the unique wildlife and geology of the archipelago. Activities include accessible volcano hikes and snorkeling with sea lions, delivered with high-touch service while guests stay in elevated, spacious, geodesic dome tents with private balconies (https://www.scalesialodge.com)
Bear viewing and kayaking in the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska with Gondwana Ecotours (photo: Gondwana Ecotours )
Bear Viewing and Kayaking: Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Witness the extraordinary sight of brown bears catching salmon at the famed Brooks Falls and explore the stunning fjords of Kenai National Park on a multi-day wildlife tour. This package is ideal for nature lovers seeking close-up wildlife encounters without the strenuous demands of deep backcountry trekking, offering scenic kayaking floats and comfortable lodge-style accommodations each night (https://www.gondwanaecotours.com/adventure-tours/kenai-brooks-falls-grizzly-bear-tours-alaska/)
Human-Powered Adventures to Reset Your Internal Clock
In an era of hyper-connectivity and AI-driven schedules, the greatest luxury isn’t a faster Wi-Fi signal, it’s the ability to disconnect. Human-powered travel is the breakout trend of 2026, trading engines for oars, pedals, and hiking boots. By moving at the speed of your own heartbeat, the landscape shifts from a blur outside a window to an immersive, sensory experience.
From the rugged coast of Tasmania to the quiet trails of Slovenia, here are a few ways to power your own adventure:
The Lakeside Loop: Eurobike (Lake Garda, Italy): Experience Italy’s famous lake at a pedal stroke’s pace. Eurobike offers a charm tour around Lake Garda, combining active days on the bike with stays in high-end accommodations. Cycling through olive groves and lakeside vineyards provides a sensory reset that no high-speed train could ever replicate.
The Slovenian Summit: Eurohike (Alpe-Adria-Trail): Walking is the ultimate analog movement. Eurohike takes you to the heart of the Julian Alps on a 7-day trek along the Alpe-Adria-Trail. Moving through Slovenia’s emerald Soča Valley and high-altitude mountain pastures, this journey is designed to synchronize your pace with the natural world.
The Alpine Cycle: Ride & Seek (Australia): Forget the tour bus; the only way to truly reset across the diverse landscapes of the Southern Hemisphere is on two wheels. Ride & Seek has launched an epic journey from Sydney to Hobart, crossing the Bass Strait to tackle the wild, winding roads of Tasmania. It is a test of endurance that rewards you with untouched coastal views and a profound connection to the rugged terrain.
Wild Frontiers, wildfrontierstravel.com (March special: Wild Frontiers is offering up to 100% off single supplement for solo travelers on select 2026-2027 departures)
A major highlight for a visit to Sonoma County, California, this year takes place at one of my favorite places: Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen: the celebration of 150th anniversary of novelist Jack London’s birth, with a full year of public programming and special events.
Planned events through 2026 include a quarterly speaker series featuring scholars and London’s great-granddaughter, a “Call of the Wild Day” family celebration with art, music, and guided walks, and gala events. The program also introduces new offerings such as an online “Around the World on the Jack London Trail” guide and themed trail challenges to highlight London’s global travels and local legacy. This yearlong initiative aims to blend heritage interpretation with immersive experiences in a beautiful, hike-friendly setting at a California state park.
I am lucky to visit the state park on Jack London’s actual birthday (admission free that day!) and visit the cottage he lived in while he and his wife, Charmian, were building their dream home, Wolf House. (Wolf House tragically burned down just before they would have moved in, but you can visit the spectacular ruins.)
The cottage – amazingly modest for such a successful writer – is filled with original furnishings and artifacts and photos – you even see the fireproof safe where he stored his manuscripts. The cottage gives you such an intimate window into the man – you see a large office, but it is the tiny porch room with a simple cot where he slept and worked – and get a peek at his personality and idiosyncrasies (like how he liked to play practical jokes on his guests, who slept in a separate building).
The Cottage was the Londons’ principal home on the Beauty Ranch, which he eventually expanded to 1400 acres through acquisitions and used to experiment with sustainable farming techniques.
London purchased the wood-framed Cottage, built in the 1860s, in 1911, along with the Kohler and Frohling Winery buildings where he housed workers and guests. They lived in the cottage while building the Wolf House, but enlarged it after the Wolf House burned in 1913 until it included some 3000 square feet of living space. Here in the cottage, he wrote many of his later stories and novels; a disciplined writer, he produced 1000 words a day, while Charmian edited, typed manuscripts and letters in the expansive office.
You actually have to go out of the cottage to an adjacent building that served as the kitchen and their dining room, where you see the piano that London bought as a gift to woo Charmian.
As the docent notes, these two buildings capture Jack and Charmian’s bohemian lifestyle and their unique working relationship. (You can visit the cottage noon-4 pm.)
After touring the cottage, I take one of the many hiking trails through a redwood forest – this one to the small “lake” Jack London used for fishing.
You realize what a visionary London was – he pioneered sustainable farming (he called it “model farming”) and ranching techniques here, experimenting and learning by trial and error (his bet on Eucalyptus trees did not turn out well). It was a noble mission for him: the docent tells me that London realized that settlers were constantly overusing the land but could mov West to new land, but when you reached California, there wasn’t much more West to go, so you better not deplete the land. He eventually expanded his Beauty Ranch to 1400 acres. Charmian wrote, “He had ideas on the profession of farming that will do the world more good than the stories he could ever write.”
Not to be missed is the House of Happy Walls, the grand stone home that Charmian London and Jack London’s stepsister, Eliza Shepard, built after London died in 1916 at the age of 40 (all the more remarkable to consider his body of work in such a short life). The stunning Arts & Crafts structure was Charmian’s home from 1935 until 1952. She put it into her will that it become a museum to London. Today, the newly re-designed exhibits in the museum showcase the adventurous and inspiring lives of the Londons.
The fascinating exhibits help you appreciate not only what a brilliant writer and amazing adventurer Jack London was, what but what a decent human being. I came away with the intention to re-read “Call of the Wild,” then read for the first time “White Fang,” and go down the list of his many books (a bookcase in the gift shop is filled with first editions). It makes me wonder why Americans venerate the bad-boy Ernest Hemingway when Jack London is the better writer and a more noble, heroic man.
On weekends talented Piano Club volunteers play Charmian London’s 1901 Steinway grand piano bringing the House of Happy Walls to life (it was the piano that Jack London gifted to her to woo her.) (open 10-5 daily)
From here, I hike another trail to the ruins of Wolf House – the dream house that Jack London was building that burned down in 1913 just before it was completed, at a cost of $75,000 ($1.9 million today). Ironically, with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake in mind, London had San Francisco architect Albert L. Farr, construct the 15,000-sq. ft., 26-room structure to be earthquake proof. Built in the Arts & Crafts style, the design was described as “rustic and individualistic”. Jack’s library measured 19 by 40 feet, and a two-story high living room measured 18 by 58 feet. Even in 1911, it was designed to include a water heater, electric lighting, refrigeration, a built-in vacuum cleaning system, laundry facilities (including a “steam dryer rotary wringer”) and a wine cellar. Even the ruins are impressive – and dramatic.
I stop to visit the modest grave sites of Jack London and Charmian on my way back.
Frankly, all of America should be celebrating Jack London’s 150th, the way Britain is celebrating Jane Austen.
Before you head up the winding road to Jack London State Park, stop at the market right at the base and pick up a picnic.
Glen Ellen, a charming classically historic Californian town, is right in the middle of a score of wineries (Benziger Winery is next door to Jack London State Park, 1883 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, CA 95442, benziger.com, https://benziger.com/tours-and-tastings/; also, Imagery, its sister winery, is one of our favorites;), the Sonoma Regional Park (hiking), and Sonoma Botanical Garden.
Spend another day trip traveling less than an hour further to some of the most magnificent coastline in California: the Sonoma Coast State Park, where there are stunning trails that hug the cliffs and go down to beaches and get drinks and food at Fishetarian Fish Market on Bodega Bay watching the sun go down.
Get carried away to another continent at Safari West – spend a day, or even better, overnight in their glamping tents (luxurious). After 35 years, Safari West is transforming toward nonprofit stewardship through the newly formed Safari West Zoological Society — “a thoughtful step that strengthens our commitment to Research, Education, and Conservation and supports the animals we cherish for generations to come.” (Safari West, 3115 Porter Creek Road Santa Rosa, CA 95404, 800-616-2695, 707-579-2551, safariwest.com).
Park Rx- Forest Bathing Walks: Forest Therapy, also known as Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing is a guided walking practice that originated in Japan which focuses on slowing down, reducing stress, and engaging the senses to support mental and physical restoration. In Sonoma County, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park offers a recurring Forest Therapy Series as part of its Park Rx Program, held on the fourth Sunday of each month from March through November. Led by certified Association of Nature and Forest Therapy practitioners, the experience introduces participants to simple techniques designed to deepen presence and enhance the restorative impact of time spent in nature. The program highlights Sonoma County’s commitment to accessible, science-backed wellness experiences set within protected natural landscapes.
Elevate Sonoma features hyperbaric sessions that increase oxygen delivery in a pressurized environment to support healing, recovery, and overall well-being, while complementary red-light therapy aims to enhance results. The clinic brings a modern health and recovery option to Sonoma County’s wellness landscape, positioning the region as a lifestyle travel destination for visitors seeking restorative experiences beyond traditional wine and outdoor offerings.
Craft Brewing For a Good Cause
Russian River Brewing Company, the Sonoma County brewery behind Pliny the Elder, a craft beer repeatedly named among the best beers in the world, is pairing purpose with production in 2026. The brewery has introduced Russian River 110, a West Coast–style pilsner created to support Russian Riverkeeper, the nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the Russian River watershed. A portion of net proceeds from expanded production, and the beer’s first bottled release will fund local conservation efforts. The release underscores how one of America’s most influential craft breweries continues to connect its beer, its place, and its environmental stewardship, giving visitors another reason to experience Sonoma County’s craft beer scene firsthand.
Sol Rei Wines, a boutique, women-owned producer known for low-histamine, low-sulfite wines that are lab-tested to be free of detectable pesticides and other residues, has opened a new tasting room in downtown Sonoma. The space is designed as a light, nature-inspired retreat that reflects the brand’s focus on purity, sustainability, and connection to the land and the craft of winemaking. Founder Katherine Kitzmiller created Sol Rei after a personal health journey led her to prioritize clean, intentional winemaking; the winery has quickly earned national honors for its 2023 vintage wines.
Marietta Cellars has just opened its first tasting room in downtown Healdsburg after 47 years as a Sonoma County staple known for its Old Vine Red and other approachable wines. The space, in a former police station near the Healdsburg Plaza, highlights the winery’s small-lot, artisanal selections rather than its widely distributed labels. Designed by co-owner and designer Lisa Steinkamp with a contemporary feel, the tasting room offers flights, glasses, and bottles of single-estate and experimental wines in a relaxed setting with indoor seating and a leafy patio.
Wolves Lovers + Thieves, a new tasting room focused exclusively on sparkling wines, has opened in Glen Ellen. The launch reflects broader confidence in Sonoma County’s tasting room growth this year, with several new wine destinations debuting.
Sonoma County Winegrowers and Reservoir launched Reservoir Farms, Sonoma, the first on-farm robotics and automation hub for vineyards and the flagship of SCW’s Farm of the Future initiative. The site includes fabrication space, an engineering workshop, and 14 acres of vineyard test blocks where startups and AgTech partners develop and test new tools with grower input. The hub addresses labor shortages, rising costs, and production pressures while supporting job growth and local innovation. Reservoir expects to bring six startups into the incubator by late 2025, strengthening Sonoma County’s leadership in sustainable, tech-driven viticulture. To arrange a Vineyard Adventure walk at one of the group’s seven vineyards, visit sonomawinegrape.org/visit/sonoma-county-vineyard-adventures, info@sonomawinegrape.org, 707-522-5860.
New in Restaurants
Bubbles & Delights Café, Petaluma’s newest breakfast spot, features a menu of scratch-made classics and bubbly drinks, including mimosas alongside farm-fresh eggs and hearty plates. Opening early for daily breakfast and brunch, the cafe adds a fresh, community-oriented spirit to Petaluma’s food scene.
Aroma de Cafe has opened in the heart of Railroad Square, one of Downtown Santa Rosa’s most historic districts. Owners Luis Rodriguez and Alejandra Bravo have relocated their well-loved brunch cafe from Fifth Street to the larger Railroad Square location, where they are continuing to serve Latin and American brunch favorites. The expanded space allows the cafe to grow while staying connected to the neighborhood’s historic character and steady flow of locals and visitors. Adding to its appeal, chef Carlos Mojica of Guiso Latin Fusion has introduced a dinner-only Latin-Italian menu, broadening the restaurant’s reach from a daytime brunch favorite into an all-day and evening destination.
Pick’s Roadside in the far northern Sonoma County town of Cloverdale has reopened with fresh energy while honoring its century-old roots. The drive-in first opened in 1923 and has become a local landmark known for burgers, milkshakes and root beer. After a complete renovation and menu reboot, the reimagined Pick’s features premium Wagyu beef burgers, classic shakes and a curated Sonoma County wine list. New owners Anidel Hospitality led the revival to preserve the site’s historic spirit and create a community gathering place with a Sonoma County Wine Country twist. The original neon sign and nostalgic feel remain.
New in Hotels
Madeira House a new boutique stay on the Sonoma Coast, is set where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean in the town of Jenner. The intimate property offers 11 rooms across three restored houses, pairing coastal restraint with warm, residential design. Many rooms offer river or ocean views, private decks, fireplaces, and select kitchenettes, while the overall experience is intentionally quiet and unplugged. With gardens, waterfront seating, and immediate access to coastal trails and beaches, Madeira House offers visitors a fresh lens on Sonoma County lodging beyond Wine Country, rooted in landscape, calm, and a strong sense of place.
Fresh off its grand debut as the flagship resort of Appellation – a visionary, culinary-first hospitality brand founded by Michelin-starred chef Charlie Palmer and luxury hospitality veteran Christopher Hunsberger – Appellation Healdsburg announced its acceptance intoSmall Luxury Hotels of the World™(SLH), becoming the first Appellation hotel to join SLH. Located on the north side of Healdsburg in Sonoma County on 8 1/2 acres of lush landscapes, Appellation Healdsburg is a culinary-driven retreat designed to immerse guests in the region’s rich food, wine, and agricultural heritage. It features 108 guest rooms and suites, two pools, Terroir Spa, a thoughtful wellness program, dynamic programming, and expansive indoor-outdoor event spaces. Folia Bar & Kitchen offers progressive American cuisine fueled by live oak embers, led by Executive Chef David Intonato and Chef de Cuisine Reed Palmer, a Healdsburg native whose experience spans acclaimed kitchens including SingleThread, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Amass in Copenhagen. After honing his craft globally, Palmer has returned home to honor Sonoma County’s agricultural heritage, shaping Folia’s menus around local ingredients and seasonal rhythms. Andys Beeline, the resort’s vibrant rooftop lounge, offers shareable bites, garden-infused cocktails and sweeping vineyard views. Channeling the region’s natural bounty into a deeply immersive wellness experience, Terroir Spa offers a sensory journey rooted in place, featuring treatments inspired by the surrounding landscape, locally sourced botanicals, and holistic rituals that reflect the rhythms of Sonoma’s land and lifestyle. At the heart of Appellation’s ethos is a celebration of craftsmanship. Through Crafted at Appellation, guests are invited to roll up their sleeves and dive into Sonoma’s creative spirit — joining local artisans, farmers, and makers in hands-on workshops that transform regional traditions into memorable, personal experiences. (www.appellationhotels.com/healdsburg or www.slh.com)
Most Americans might not think of New York State first in context of the American Revolution and independence – Boston, Philadelphia are more top of mind. But it will surprise virtually everyone to know that more battles – and pivotal ones – of the Revolution were fought in New York than any other. In fact one-third of the battles and incursions were fought in New York, which the British considered vital to their conquest of the continent. Here are some of the places and events commemorating America’s 250th in New York State:
Fort Ticonderoga
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold realized that the British Fort Ticonderoga made an easy target for the American rebels. They captured the fort in 1775 with a band of Green Mountain Boys only weeks after Lexington and Concord, making it America`s first victory in the Revolution. Visitors can tour the restored fort, research library, museum galleries, and acres of beautiful land overlooking Lake Champlain and see artillery demonstrations and frequent reenactments. Fort Ticonderoga Real Time Revolution™ Event Series(Adirondacks): The iconic historic site continues honoring its role in America’s origin story with the Real Time Revolution™ event series, designed to bring the Revolutionary War to life on the very grounds it took place through reenactments of key events. One of the highlights takes place during Independence Day Weekend, with a signature reenactment, “Return of an Army,” depicting the Northern Continental Army’s retreat to Ticonderoga during the same period that the Declaration of Independence was being signed in Philadelphia (102 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, NY 12883, 518-585-2821).
Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield)
Two hotly contested Revolutionary War battles here ended in an American victory which some proclaim as one of the most important in world history. Visit the Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Battlefield) visitor center with film, light map, museum exhibits; tour the scenic 10-mile auto and bike road and hike historic paths. The park also has four other sites located nine miles north of the battlefield around the villages of Victory and Schuylerville: Victory Woods where British General Burgoyne’s forces made their last stand, the 155′ Saratoga Monument with panoramic views of the Hudson Valley, General Philip Schuyler’s 1777 home and estate, and the Saratoga Surrender Site (648 Rte 32, Stillwater, NY 12170, 518-664-9821, x 2980, www.nps.gov/sara to plan your visit).
Fort Stanwix National Monument offers a full-scale reconstruction of the original fort built in 1758 by the British during the French and Indian War (re-created from the original British plans) and occupied by Americans during the Revolutionary War, where you can engage with costumed interpreters and really appreciate the complex dynamics surrounding the War for Independence.
In August 1777, Fort Stanwix, under the command of Col. Peter Gansevoort, successfully repelled a prolonged siege by British, German, Loyalist, Canadian and American Indian troops and warriors commanded by British Gen. Barry St. Leger – becoming the only American post never to surrender to the enemy throughout the entire War of Independence. Significantly, the failed siege, combined with the battles at Oriskany, Bennington, and Saratoga thwarted a coordinated effort by the British in 1777, under the leadership of Gen. John Burgoyne, to take the northern colonies. The Americans’ success (after so many defeats) led to American alliances with France and the Netherlands. Troops from Fort Stanwix also participated in the 1779 Clinton-Sullivan Campaign and protected America’s northwest frontier from British campaigns until finally being abandoned in 1781.
At the Marinus Willett Center, explore centuries of history through interpretive exhibits and cases of artifacts unearthed on the site that put into context the colonials and the indigenous people who lived here (that will surprise you), and why New York State was so crucial to the Revolution – not just logistically, but as a critical source of food supplies for the troops. The park also collaboratively manages both the Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site and the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site, all three locations inexorably connected from the time of the American Revolution. (100 N James St, Rome, NY 13440, (315) 338-7730, https://www.nps.gov/fost/learn/historyculture/index.htm)
New York City Hosts ‘Sail 4th’ Spectacular
Statue of Liberty, New York city
New York City which celebrated its 400th anniversary throughout 2025, is where America’s entire history is on display – the indigenous people who lived here before the Europeans, the Dutch founding in 1625 with the establishment of Fort Amsterdam and how diverse cultures built the city and continue to be the hallmark – at the Museum of the City of New York (a superb film unrolls 400 years in 30 minutes) (1220 5th Ave, www.mcny.org). One of the more unexpected places to explore America’s Native American history is at National Museum of the American Indian, a Smithsonian Institution, housed at Alexander Hamilton’s Custom House on Bowling Green (right around where King George III’s statue would have been ripped down by patriots) (https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/ny).
New York City will have its share of blockbuster events celebrating America’s 250th. One of the most sensational is “Sail 4th 250”, taking place July 3-9, 2026, with 30 Tall ships and 30 Grey Hull ships from 32 nations bringing 10,000 officers, cadets, crew and diplomats to parade down the East River on July 3rd up the Hudson River on July 4. Open to free public visits through July 9 (www.sail4th.org).
Macy’s 50th anniversary fireworks on July 4th will be especially spectacular with an International Aerial Review, headlined by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
The Blue Angels will then headline the FourLeaf Air Showat Jones Bach State Park (date change from Memorial Day Weekend to July 5 – 6) to celebrate America’s 250th.
The New York Historical is opening its new Tang Wing for American Democracy on June 18, 2026, greatly expanding both the landmark building and The Historical’s wide-ranging schedule of exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public programs. Dedicated to the history and future of the nation’s founding principles, the 71,000-square-foot Tang Wing will open as the United States launches the celebration of its 250th anniversary. On view now: Declaring the Revolution: America’s Printed Path to Independence which features the documents that provided the ideological and philosophical underpinnings for the Revolution and the founding of a new kind of government (by the people) and that raised the rabble, forged a collective consciousness and identity, and inculcated the outrageous idea that a ragtag collection of colonial people of diverse race, ethnicity, religion and national origin could and should take on the most powerful empire on the globe (on view through April 12); also, Stirring the Melting Pot: Photographs from The New York Historical Collections. The New York Historical will present a slate of special exhibitions throughout the anniversary year. New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution covering over 400 years of American history. (New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York NY 10024, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org)
NYC Revolutionary Trail: Echoes of Revolutionwill launch in June 2026 to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th anniversary. Founded by The Gotham Center for NYC History at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, the multimedia 90-minute, 3-mile walking tour in downtown Manhattan reframes New York at the heart of the American Revolution. Partnering with Video Game Publisher Ubisoft and Creative Technology Studio Sugar Creative, the Gotham Center, Echoes of Revolution is a FREE, mobile, geo-located immersive walking tour that uses augmented reality to place visitors inside Revolutionary-era New York. Starting at the Battery and ending at Federal Hall via Bowling Green, Wall Street, and other pivotal sites, visitors will relive pivotal historical moments from the founding of the United States, uncover the stories that shaped the nation’s beginnings in the actual locations where they took place, and have a close-up experience of the “city at the heart of the Revolution,” with each stop providing audio narration with site information, character profiles, videos and links to Center’s Library. Echoes of Revolution is a new version of Gotham’s original NYC Revolutionary Trail App and will also partner with the Museum of the City of New York for the upcoming exhibit, “The Occupied City,” to ring in New York’s 250th celebration (https://nycrevolutionarytrail.org)
Follow Washington’s Culper Spy Ring Trail on Long Island:
The Culper Spy Ring was an intelligence network that George Washington himself credited as crucial to the American victory over the British Empire. Largely following Route 25A (Long Island Heritage Trail), President George Washington traveled this route in 1790 by horse-drawn carriage on a mission to thank his Long Island supporters and the ‘Culper Spy Ring’ for their help in winning the American Revolution (hence the many places that boast “George Washington slept here”).
Indeed, Long Island in 1778 was largely occupied by the British (as was New York City) but there were Patriots who risked their lives to get intelligence to General George Washington. You can visit the houses where secret messages were written in invisible ink and follow the Washington spy trail map. (The AMC series TURN: Washington’s Spies, now airing on PBS was based on actual events involving the Culper Spy Ring on Long Island, focusing on farmer Abe Woodhull and his childhood friends gathering vital intelligence for the Continental Army.)
Among the Revolutionary War sites: Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, where Robert Townsend became a part of the spy ring; the Arsenal in Huntington; the Conklin House’ Joseph Lloyd Manor, the Brewster House in Stony Brook where American patriot Caleb Brewster spied on British soldiers; and Sherwood-Jayne Farm, home of Loyalist William Jayne aka “Big Bill the Tory”. See where the Battle of Setauket was fought near the Setauket Presbyterian Church on Caroline Ave.; Strongs Neck Road, where Anna Smith Strong and Abraham Woodhull lived, a key location for the spies; Thompson House where spies’ names are in the doctor’s book. On the South Shore, Sagtikos Manor in Bay Shore is where President George Washington stayed here during his Long Island tour in 1790. See: https://www.discoverlongisland.com/plan-your-trip/famous-long-island/george-washingtons-spy-trail/; find more Long Island 250 events: https://www.discoverlongisland.com/longisland250/.
Westchester’s American Revolutionary Trail
Once the volatile “Neutral Ground” between British and Patriot forces, Westchester County was where generals strategized, spies swapped secrets and ordinary people found themselves at the crossroads of independence. Follow the American Revolutionary Trail to discover Westchester’s most compelling historic sites, among them:
Jacob Purdy House (White Plains): Washington’s wartime headquarters during key moments of the Revolution.
John Jay Homestead (Katonah): Home of a Founding Father, tracing early American politics, antislavery roots and family life.
Philipsburg Manor (Sleepy Hollow): A powerful look at slavery in the Colonial North, complete with hands-on demonstrations, one of the Historic Hudson Valley properties.
St. Paul’s Church (Mt. Vernon): A 1704 parish turned field hospital after the Battle of Pell’s Point.
Square House Museum (Rye): A historic tavern where John Adams, Samuel Adams and George Washington once stayed.
Thomas Paine Cottage (New Rochelle): Last home of the legendary pamphleteer, filled with rare artifacts.
Genesee Country Village & Museum(Finger Lakes) explores early American life through costumed interpretation, working trades and educational programs that illuminate the nation’s evolving identity. The museum, now in its 50th year, spotlights its “Seeking Freedom” initiative, highlighting stories of enslavement, freedom-seekers and abolitionists while hosting special cross-century exhibits and events tied to the national 250-year commemoration.
Commander in Cheers Augmented Reality Experience (Hudson Valley):Running through 2026, restaurants, pubs and other locations in the region offer an augmented reality experience that brings a pint-sized George Washington to life, sharing stories of Dutchess County’s Revolutionary past, by scanning a specialty coaster. Participating locations include Mill House Brewing Company in Poughkeepsie, The Tavern at Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, Tenmile Distillery in Wassaic and Treasury Cider at Fishkill Farms. More information will be announced soon on additional programs as part of Dutchess County’s Commander in Cheers celebration.
Orangetown and the Bicentennial 1776-1976: From Democracy to Disco(Hudson Valley): On view through 2026 at the Orangetown Historical Museum’s DePew House, this exhibition highlights Rockland County’s crucial contributions during the Revolutionary War and showcases the historical and cultural impact of the 1976 Bicentennial. This spring, the Spirits of ’76 Wine Tasting companion event will feature historically inspired wines curated by Grape d’Vine, honoring Orangeburg and Tappan’s Revolutionary War legacy.
RevCon 2026 (Hudson Valley): Dutchess County hosts RevCon on June 13 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park. The Revolutionary War reenactment and history fair brings the era to life with weapons demonstrations, military drills, camp displays and Q&A sessions with reenactors.
America’s Revolution did not end with the War for Independence. New York State has made it a mission for its America 250 commemoration to review America’s many revolutions in striving to realize the “more perfect union” the Founders could barely imagine.
“One of directives in New York State’s America 250th is to make it broad and diverse and think of the American Revolution as incomplete because it didn’t include all residents,” said Devin Lander, NYS State Historian.
Many of these revolutions were sparked or furthered in New York State, and as you travel across the state, you can see them unfold: women’s suffrage, abolition, civil rights, voting rights, environmental protection.
To see how America came to be, join Parks & Trails NY’s annual eight-day Cycle the Erie trip that takes place each July, and travel 400 miles and 400 years of history from Buffalo to Albany- 356-miles of them along the Erie Canalway. (In addition to Parks & Trails NY, bike tour operators offer guided and self-guided trips.)
You see how the Industrial Revolution unfolded, how the Canal was the ‘Mother of Cities” like Rochester and Syracuse, and birthed canal towns, united the American continent, and turned New York City into a financial capital of the world; at the Canal Museum in Syracuse, you see how immigrants used the canal to settle the West, turn the Midwest into America’s breadbasket, and unite the nation, and how the canal spurred the innovation and entrepreneurism that made the Industrial Revolution possible; how Native Americans and colonists lived side by side at Fort Stanwix and the Indian trading post at Schoharie established 400 years ago and how knowing the Oneida women influenced Melinda Gage’s zeal for women’s equal rights. You see the context for the Women’s Rights movement at Seneca Falls. (https://www.ptny.org/cycle-the-erie-canal-bike-tour/).
The 356-mile Erie Canalway is part of New York State’s 750-mile Empire State Trail network, from Buffalo to Albany and the tip of Manhattan at Battery Park to the Canadian border. It will ultimately be expanded and connected to a Long Island Greenway Trail Expansion– 200 miles of new greenspace from Montauk to Manhattan. With construction expected to begin this winter, the Long Island Greenway will connect 27 communities and 26 existing park – a route that is also rich in America’s history, from indigenous times (so many of the towns still have their names), through the American Revolution (George Washington’s Spy Trail), to the Shinnecock Indian Nation, in Southhampton.
New York State will be paying homage to its many revolutions in which the state played such a pivotal part, including linking “Freedom” to the theme of “Independence.”
Cayuga County, in the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes, is Harriet Tubman’s chosen home. Auburn is where Tubman lived for more than 50 years, continued her activism, and established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged. Today, visitors can explore this powerful legacy through nationally significant historic sites, museums, and landscapes that speak to freedom, abolition, and the ongoing pursuit of equality. This makes Cayuga County a particularly meaningful place to reflect on America’s 250th anniversary.
Cayuga County will be hosting several commemorative events and experiences in recognition of America 250, with more details continuing to take shape. Among those that have been scheduled:
The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is planning programming under the banner “Freedom 2026,” which will serve as a lead-in to “Freedom 2027,” marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in New York State.
Cayuga County is also looking to the anticipated opening of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad New York Scenic Byway and its first leg, which will connect Buffalo with Tubman’s chosen hometown of Auburn.
In 2026, the Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trailwill feature an America 250 theme, with several sweetly patriotic offerings highlighted along the itinerary.
Each year, the Town of Ledyard hosts a well-attended reenactment and ceremony that includes replica parchment printings of the Declaration of Independence, a full-costume public reading, and a horseback rider arrival with classic “Hear ye, hear ye” flair.
July 4th fireworks on Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven and at Emerson Park in Auburn are always community highlights, and is expected that 2026 to be especially memorable in honor of the 250th anniversary.
In the next few weeks, a full America 250 schedule from several of Cayuga’s historic and cultural partners, including the Seward House Museum, Schweinfurth Art Center, Cayuga Museum of History and Art, Auburn Public Theater, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Willard Memorial Chapel, Frontenac Museum, and the Equal Rights Heritage Center, will be available. See more at www.tourcayuga.com.
Urban Civil Rights Museum(New York City):Located within the National Urban League’s new Harlem headquarters, the Urban League Empowerment Center, the museum will be the first institution solely dedicated to the American Civil Rights Movement, when it opens later in the year. (https://urbancivilrightsmuseum.org/)
Underground Railroad & Abolitionist Movement: Saratoga in 2027 will mark the 200th anniversary of abolition of slavery in New York State; there will be exhibits at the State Museum in Albany, and state parks.
Women’s Suffrage: visit Seneca Falls, dubbed the “Birthplace of Women’s Rights” where you can visit the National Women’s Hall of Fame in addition to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Elizabeth Cady Stanton Home, plus :”It’s a Wonderful Life” Museum.
New York’s role in the Environmental Movement is on display at Tanglewood Nature Center Canopy Treetop Walkway opening in the Finger Lakes in late spring/early summer. This ADA-accessible forest canopy path climbs 70 feet high, offering sweeping views. Designed in collaboration with world-renowned scientist “Canopy Meg” Lowman, this treetop walkway is only the second of its kind in New York State (the first is the Wild Walk at The Wild Center). Also, travel to the Adirondacks State Preserve (at 5 million acres, the largest tract of publicly protected land in the Lower 48) and enjoy the newly opened Adirondack Rail Trail(34 miles from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake).
“As we commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and welcome the world for the FIFA World Cup, there’s no better time to explore New York State – where every corner tells a story. From the historic grounds of Fort Ticonderoga and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to the Statue of Liberty and the thundering power of Niagara Falls, visitors will discover experiences as iconic and unforgettable as the milestones we’re honoring throughout 2026,” I LOVE NY Executive Director of Tourism Ross D. Levisaid.
An excellent source of all things historic in New York State is the Passport to History site, which can steer you to 700 destinations across the state. You can choose from themes to create your own Path Through History: https://www.iloveny.com/things-to-do/path-through-history/
