Dates: November 13 through December 24, 2025

Why we love it: If you say “holiday market” to a New Yorker, chances are they’ll direct you to the bustling Union Square Holiday Market. With 185 vendors spread across concentric half-circles of booths, we’re not exaggerating when we say you can find the perfect present for everyone on your list at this sprawling pop-up. Some buzzy vendors to look out for this year? Wicked Heathens handmade crystal jewelry, Meow Parlor’s cat beds, and make sure to save time to explore the many food purveyors for snacks, like Rubyzaar’s absurdly delicious torched hot chocolate. Pro tip: As the city’s most famous market, it can get quite crowded on nights and weekends, so try to opt for daytime weekday visits if possible.

Printemps New York Holiday Market

Location: 1 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005

Dates: Every Friday through Sunday in December

Why we love it: Paris import Printemps opened its first department store in New York this year and, as is no surprise, both its selection of goods and interior design are stunningly chic. Happily, you can take a bit more of that French magic home with you this December, when the store launches its first weekend holiday market. Four stations will be scattered around the first floor selling everything from mulled wine and spiced Old Fashioneds to beautifully boxed gift sets of nougat, chocolate, and candy. Keep your eye out for a massive Arc de Triomphe, too—made entirely out of gingerbread.

The first weekend of December sees the Brooklyn Navy Yard transform into Wallabout Wonderland for an eighth season of local vendor takeover.

Courtesy of Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

Wallabout Wonderland Holiday Market

Location: Brooklyn Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205

A couple of years ago, I spent a weekend in Columbus, Ohio. I promise this isn’t the setup to a smug New Yorker’s unimaginative quip (“longest weekend of my life”). Those were a charmed 48 hours. A few things were on my side: I was escaping parental responsibility (our oldest was applying to high school, a fraught time) and the weather was unexpectedly beautiful (70 degrees in late October, disturbing but delicious). I was in town for work, but my work is, if I’m honest, not difficult. Turn up at the public library and talk? That would take but one hour out of a whole weekend. I had time to kill.

Like many Midwestern cities, downtown Columbus has grand architecture dating to a boom time long passed. There were few people around, which felt like a shame on such a beautiful streetscape. But the downtowns of such cities, even when seemingly vacant, remain cultural hubs; the Columbus Museum of Art was a five-minute walk from my hotel. I’ve had the joy of learning that many smaller American cities are home to beautiful art collections, and it’s a particular high when traveling to discover a masterpiece I hadn’t expected. That Saturday I was thrilled by a grisly Paul Cadmus and a monumental Helen Frankenthaler, two artists I so love. It was like running into old friends.

But I was as fidgety as a schoolkid on a field trip; the sun beckoned. As is common with American cities, Columbus is designed for cars, not people, but I wanted to walk. I had recommendations from Chris, an old friend who had moved home to Columbus, and I had my phone, which could provide both a map and a ride, should I run out of sidewalk.

Chris advised me to explore German Village, a well-to-do historic neighborhood with handsome old brick buildings and elegant houses. There I found that sense of vitality I had been missing downtown—it turns out pedestrians and cyclists would rather congregate on small beautiful streets. I’ve never been able to resist a used bookshop, which is how I found myself in The Book Loft. This bibliophile’s labyrinth is the kind of joyfully chaotic place where it would be easy to while away hours without buying a thing. But I had more to see. When I had walked enough to deserve a snack, I joined the queue of customers spilling onto the sidewalk outside Fox in the Snow Cafe. I bought a cinnamon roll so big that eating it required privacy, so I fled to nearby Schiller Park, where there are pickleball courts and lake views and what I most needed: a comfortable bench to be alone with my massive pastry.

For dinner Chris and I went to the vegetarian restaurant Comune, where we sat at the minimalist bar and dispensed with several delicious and unfussy shared plates. That night I slept the sleep of the unworried. My short trip would end the following morning at the public Main Library, an elegant marble edifice that was originally an Andrew Carnegie project. Visiting a library can be as uplifting as going to a museum. This is the best stuff this country has yet come up with: places that belong to all people.

Everyone has their own reasons to travel; every trip has its own particular goals. For obvious reasons, big cities will always be the draw for most tourists. Sometimes, though, what you want is simple: a warm spell, an old friend, an oversized cinnamon roll, a long walk, some world-class art. As Columbus shows, there’s more than one place to find those things in this country.

This article appeared in the November 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.

The best beaches in Puerto Rico are some of the most ideal places to soak up all the Caribbean glamour that earned this island the rather endearing epithet: “Isla del Encanto.” From the long stretches of reef swarming with candy-colored fish that you’ll find at La Parguera to the consistent waves that peel like butter off Pine Grove, there’s plenty to love about the beaches on this island. If you’re looking to flex your sea legs, you can even visit the uninhabited satellite island of Culebrita, where Tortuga swarms with green turtles who munch on seagrass and bask in satisfyingly warm waters. While we made some of our selections precisely for their remote locales a boat ride and hike (or two) away from the main island, others sit squarely within hotspots booming with some of the best restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in Puerto Rico. And to sweeten the pot even more, travelers from the States can visit the island and all its glorious beaches without a passport.

No matter where you choose to head along the nearly 700 miles of coastline, you can’t go wrong with an island that truly has no off-season: The best time to visit Puerto Rico is now and always. Below, we’ve gathered our picks for the best beaches in Puerto Rico—plus where to stay—with billowing palms, soft sands, and fabulous flora aplenty.

Read on for our complete Puerto Rico travel guide, which includes:

The days went by in a flurry of impressions, gleaned over the handlebars. There was the babble of snow monkeys in the trees near Kofu (a town that grows those extravagantly expensive fruits that are given as gifts). There were elegantly spired, tightly-packed Buddhist cemeteries in the midst of almost iridescent green rice paddies. There were mountain peaks densely packed with cypress and marked by absolute stillness, save for the piercing cries of Japanese Golden Eagles. There were restorative bowls of soba noodles at family-run roadside restaurants, elaborate kaiseki meals eaten wearing summer yukata robes, and Japanese snacks at the RAID rest stops. There were “shortcuts” down eerily abandoned country roads. There were memorable stays in new-to-me cities like Takayama (dubbed “mini-Kyoto,” without the crowds), where, in the sleek Hotel Wood, you find yourself immersed in the onsen with the same people you’ve been riding with, except you’re all now naked.

But there’s little room for shame on this trip: On another night, in the town of Kaga, we find ourselves in a small karaoke bar called Swing Club, singing Bon Jovi full-throat. Sauber discovered the place years ago and has been returning ever since. When we walk in, swelling the bar’s population, the septuagenarian proprietress—a former classical dancer in the Bon Odori tradition, wearing a leopard-print blouse—beams at him warmly. He doesn’t recall her name. “I have these experiences all over the world,” he tells me. “It’s not about names. It’s about interactions.”

The 5th-century Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine in Takayama

Joao Maia / Alamy Stock Photo

So beguiling is this whole trip that several guests, joined by their partners, would be sticking around to do RAID’s other Japan itinerary, a less strenuous trip through the Southern Islands. Sauber says that in general, while some cycling experience is suggested, it’s also a chance for participants—typically already thrust out of their comfort zone by being in Japan—to expand their sense of self. Among the clients on that trip, he notes, is a 70-year-old woman, bringing her e-bike. “She’s super adventurous, she’s traveled all over,” he says. “RAID is about pushing people’s limits, stretching that elastic—creating an experience that actually challenges people.”

RAID Cycling leads trips in countries across the globe, including Japan. Rates for the 8-day Tokyo to Kyoto trip start at $6800, which includes lodging, transport and support during the trip, and all meals.

Take a walk—or sit in a hammock—by the waterfront

The Delaware River Waterfront has long been popular with visitors, thanks to its scenic views and family-friendly attractions like the Independence Seaport Museum. But thanks to the addition of the seasonal Spruce Street Harbor Park, both locals and tourists are rolling on the river—in droves. Ride a bike– complimentary of the Canopy, and take in the views. There’s no shortage of things to see, including pop-up flea markets, LED art installations, and yes, plenty of hammocks for lounging.

The cultural heart of the city: the Philadelphia Museum of Art 

Courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

Wander down the “cultural boulevard”

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is rightfully considered one of the best museums in the U.S., but it’s not the only arts institution worth a visit. Just a short stroll down Benjamin Franklin Parkway is the Rodin Museum, devoted to the French Impressionist and home to one of Philadelphia’s loveliest gardens. And the nearby non-profit cultural and education institution Barnes Foundation displays modern works to renown canvases by masters like Matisse, Cézanne, and Renoir in a peaceful salon-style setting.

One of Philly’s best-loved institutions is the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a collection of curiosities—medical and otherwise—housed in a gorgeous Beaux Arts building. It may sound creepy at first, but after seeing bits of Albert Einstein’s brain (preserved under glass, of course), or the tallest human skeleton in America, you’ll have a new appreciation for the inner workings of the human body. (And the people tasked with caring for them.)

Seek out vintage wares, indie boutiques, and bookshops

In the middle of Center City, you’ll encounter charming bookstore Giovanni’s Room. The original shop opened in 1973 and has since been an oasis steep in LGBTQ+ and feminist history. Less than a mile away and tucked in the Italian Market is flagship store Goods Vintage. With an emphasis on art and jewelry, the shop sells rare collectibles and tchotchkes as special as their ambiance. In an aimless stroll down South Street, stumble across plenty of funky and fresh shops including Retrospect Vintage. The one-stop shop has plenty of hidden gems from old film cameras to your next favorite pair of jeans.

Hang out with art (and artists)

Fishtown and Kensington are known as two of Philadelphia’s two artsiest neighborhoods, with galleries and festivals celebrating its cultural community all year long. The Frankford Avenue corridor is home to several of these; wander off the main drag and you’ll find spaces like the Icebox Project Space, part of the larger Crane Arts complex. Street-art spotters will also find plenty to love in Fishtown, including John Boyce’s sculptures and Steve Powers’s mural on Master Street, painted for the cover of indie-rocker Kurt Vile’s album Wakin On a Pretty Daze.

A Trip Unto Itself

One weekend in Philadelphia is not nearly enough time to get down to the city’s nitty gritty. But in just a few days, you are shot into a metropolis of myriads– history lessons and this new, loud explosion of presence. Any traveler to Philly holds the opportunity to experience a number of cultures, all through food, art, and heart-to-heart conversations with city locals. (I will say– in those conversations, maybe don’t bring up competitive state sport games. Or do… )