A couple weeks ago I published my list of top 10 places to go in 2024. It seems the people at AFAR magazine and I think a lot alike.
I put Toronto, Paris and Detroit in my top 10, and both cities are in the AFAR top 24. I also am high on, and have written in the past about, several other destinations on the AFAR list, including Sydney, Los Angeles, Texas Hill Country, Valencia, Manchester (England) and St. Kitts.
Here is the top 24 from AFAR:
- Fiji
- Sydney, Australia
- Tangier, Morocco
- Texas Hill Country
- Rome
- Macchu Picchu
- Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
- Lamu, Kenya
- Bhutan
- Philadelphia
- Paris
- Los Angeles
- Manchester
- Weifang, China
- St. Kitts
- Valencia
- Brno, Czech Republic
- Detroit
- San Diego and Tijuana
- Norway
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Maldonado, Uruguay
- Tartu, Estonia
- Toronto
The rooftop pool at the new W Hotel in Sydney, Australia. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I was in Sydney on Sunday and it was a glorious day. We arrived early and checked into the new W Hotel in Darling Harbour, then grabbed lunch at The Rocks and took the ferry to Manly Beach for a couple hours. We relaxed at the hotel’s fabulous rooftop pool and enjoyed a fine ahi tuna poke bowl, then had a wonderful meal at the hotel’s main restaurant, BTWN. We had a great room overlooking the harbour and a truly fantastic buffet breakfast the next day.
I’ve often cited Manchester as a cool underrated city, and many times have recommended Valencia as a great spot to visit in Spain.
I’ve written extensively about Los Angeles, where I went to university, and also about St. Kitts (and Nevis).
Also, here’s a story a story I wrote recently about Detroit, and one about Texas Hill Country.
Here’s what AFAR had to say about some of its picks:
LOS ANGELES
ST. KITTS
St. Kitts, in the eastern Caribbean, is an island of thick rain forests and sunny beaches. But during its early colonial era it was blanketed with sugar plantations that were farmed by enslaved African people. Much of the crop was turned into rum, creating a lucrative business for the British. After St. Kitts gained independence in 1983 and shut down its cane sugar production in 2005 (it couldn’t compete with the global industry’s turn to beet sugar), the legacy of Kittitian rum was not forgotten. Now two locally owned companies are reviving the island’s distilling heritage with a proud Kittitian spin.
Toronto sign at the CN Tower. JIM BYERS PHOTO
TORONTO
DETROIT
Detroit’s Michigan Central, a Beaux-Arts former train station, has been reimagined as a transportation R&D lab with retail, dining, and community spaces—just one example of how everything old is new again in this city. The Motown Museum will roll out a $65 million upgrade throughout 2024 that includes performance spaces, interactive exhibits, and a music education center. The hip Cambria Hotel (in a 1936 radio broadcasting building by Albert Kahn, one of Detroit’s great architects) is the latest in a string of landmarks refashioned as boutique hotels.
HOLLAND AMERICA SETS ANOTHER BLACK FRIDAY RECORD
For the second year in a row, Holland America Line’s Black Friday booking volumes broke a record high for the shopping holiday in the United States, with volume for the day more than 20% higher than last year’s record high and 23% higher for the period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
The trend was especially noticeable with guests planning summer vacations in 2024, with bookings for Alaska, Europe and Canada/New England all surpassing volumes from last year’s Black Friday sales.
“While some see Black Friday as a sign that winter is coming, our guests were dreaming about exploring summer destinations like Alaska, Iceland and Greece,” said Gus Antorcha, president, Holland America Line. “Breaking Black Friday records two years in a row tells us that not only are guests excited to plan ahead for travel, but that they value Holland America Line’s award-winning service and carefully crafted itineraries that visit more than 100 countries.”
Holland America Line’s summer cruises include six ships in Alaska, offering the most Glacier Bay permits in the cruise industry, the most glacier viewing experiences and the most opportunities to see the animals of Alaska with nearly 180 shore excursions that take guests on a wildlife encounter. The summer season also highlights cruising in the Canada/New England region, with several itineraries extending up to Iceland and Greenland.
