Conde Nast Traveler January/February 2023

PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK that the best part of my job is the travel. Don’t get me wrong, the travel is amazing, but it’s only number two. Number one is the kind, wonderful, incomparable people around the world I get to collaborate with on Condé Nast Traveler, and the passion they bring to work each day. The Gold List, our annual roundup of editors’ favorite hotels and cruises, is one of the many reminders I get of this throughout the course of the year. When we plan it, I love hearing editors’ words tumble out a little faster as they endeavor to explain how this particular hotel actually changed their lives a tiny bit. I love learning from them and imagining the way these places might shape me as well. You will…

When Elana Brundyn stepped down as CEO of Cape Town’s prestigious Norval Foundation museum and into an advisory role last year, her plan was to enjoy some R&R. But Brundyn, one of Africa’s preeminent art entrepreneurs, found it hard to sit idle. So she opened her Rolodex, filled with names like Wim Botha and Cinga Samson, two of South Africa’s leading contemporary artists, and embarked on a project to connect the country’s creative scene with the millions of travelers who visit each year. The result is Art House Collection, an exclusive portfolio of high-end, art-focused villa rentals across South Africa. “There are so many beautiful homes that are not properly visible,” Brundyn says. “We make sure we match the houses with people who will respect them. That is very important…

Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation, South Africa The institute, located in a striking glass-and-brick building, has an incredible collection (it has showcased artists such as Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, from Sudan, and Jane Alexander, from South Africa) with a strong focus on women. jcaf.org.za Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, Kenya Established in 2020 by painter Michael Armitage, the nonprofit is in the process of developing a comprehensive archive of East African art and has fast become a hub for the city’s creative scene, offering seminars. ncai254.com Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Ghana Old airplanes have been overhauled into classrooms at this artist-run space that promotes Ghanaian works. Author and installationist Ibrahim Mahama, who started the center, has placed importance on education and research. sccatamale.org Singita Safari Lodges This new gallery concept at lodges in Kruger National Park and Sabi Sands…

In the 1800s, settlers from the Bahamas docked their ships on a swampy sandbar along Biscayne Bay, just south of what is today the urban enclave of Brickell, and built up the lush, tropical homesteads that would eventually prompt residents to dub it Coconut Grove. In the 1960s, the Grove, as it came to be known, was a hippie hotbed, attracting creatives and musicians; later, families were drawn to its quiet residential streets. Today, the leafy community is attracting fresh waves of attention, thanks to the new eateries, boutique hotels, and stylish shops that have cropped up along its strollable blocks. Here’s how to spend a day in Miami’s most laid-back neighborhood. AYESHA KHAN GREAT OUTDOORS Head to Peacock Park, named for the exotic birds that once roamed its grounds—and its first…

Last year, Vienna announced plans to become carbon neutral by 2040, beating the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement by 10 years. Hyperlocal food, through urban farming and sustainable agriculture, will play a major role in making it happen. Vienna has nearly 5,000 acres of fields and vineyards within its city limits, and it’s adding more as the city educates and supports local growers in reducing their ecological footprints. The benefits are most visible in Vienna’s restaurants, where fresh, produce-driven menus are supplanting the traditional meat-heavy dishes associated with the city. At the bright, vegetarian Tian, a tasting-menu standout is the oven-braised local celeriac “tartlets” filled with pear, celery, and juniper, all of which were grown within 40 miles. This approach helped the restaurant earn a Michelin Green Star for sustainable…

The Thai government banned alcohol sales in 2020 as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. It lifted restrictions late in 2021, and when bars reopened shortly after, Bangkok’s nightlife scene went into overdrive. Over the past year, a wave of high-end cocktail dens has opened, featuring cool urban design and discerning drinks that wouldn’t be out of place in Shoreditch or on the Lower East Side—think dim lights, rare vermouths, and a cool, creative crowd who wants something more subtle than the city’s blinged-out rooftop scene. All are in neighborhoods along the Chao Phraya river, giving visitors an effortless way to stay out late. In Chinatown, Independence Bar is an eight-month-old bar from the owners of Teens of Thailand, which is largely credited with elevating Bangkok’s cocktail scene. The…