These 18 rugged spikes of basalt half way between Shetland and Iceland are windy, wet and wild. The crew shooting aerial scenes for the upcoming James Bond film, No Time to Die (out September 30) had to bring in a small helicopter on the ferry from Denmark to film the sheer cliffs surrounding the deep road tunnels that link the four tiny villages on the island of Kalsoy (total population: 70).
In reality the Faroese are probably the people least likely to ever harbour a Bond villain—a tight-knit community of just 52,000 where most people can still name a common ancestor. Getting there is easier than many imagine, with twice weekly flights from Edinburgh (with Atlantic Airways) or twice daily from Copenhagen.
Tunisia competes fiercely with Europe for summer holidays. But it’s still struggling to salvage the tourism season, even as European resorts start to reopen.
People got a bird’s-eye view of the UK capital as the London Eye reopened to visitors following months of lockdown.
The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3 million visitors annually.
Breakfast from Crema Coffee House (cremacoffeehouse.net) fuels the 2-hour-15-minute launch out of Denver’s orbit and into the mountains toward Buena Vista (“BYOO-nuh Vista” if you want to blend in). Along the Arkansas River, the town is a jumping-in point for kayakers, white-water rafters and stand-up paddleboarders (which is why you see so many signs asking you “SUP?”). If the rapids look too rapid, stroll instead along the banks in South Main, a meticulous neighborhood of gabled homes and shops that feels slightly staged but nonetheless stylish. Pop into the bar at the Surf Hotel, which anchors the area, for a refreshment on the wraparound balcony that overlooks the river (surfhotel.com).
Day 2: Salida to Paonia
217 miles
Show no restraint when selecting your breakfast items at Salida’s Little Red Hen Bakery (littleredhensalida.com). The drive west over Monarch Pass offers a panorama of the Sawatch mountain range as you cross the Continental Divide, the boundary that decides whether a river flows east or west. Continue on to Crested Butte, carved with plenty of hiking and biking paths. During the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival, July 9-18, local guides lead walks to the lushest spots, including the Rustler Gulch and Beckwith Pass trails (crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.org). Back in town, brightly painted buildings along Elk Avenue host convivial places such as Secret Stash (secretstash.com), which serves cheeky pizzas like the Booty Call (a heap of meat).
Day 3: Paonia to Grand Junction
282 miles
Before leaving Paonia, stock the car with tamales, honey and cider from Big B’s store and cafe, which sits steps away from their apple orchard (bigbs.com). Then drive over to Western Culture Farmstead & Creamery for some fresh feta and chevre and to coo over the adorable baby goats (westernculturefarmstead.com). It’s 2½ hours south to Telluride, sitting in a box canyon of 13ers and 14ers in a landscape that could be Switzerland’s stunt double. The emerald peaks crowd around this former mining town, now an upscale enclave of art galleries, cafes and shops. Get a lay of the land aboard the town’s free gondola, which lifts riders 1,750 feet above the valley floor. By late afternoon, the final leg of this tour sends you north 2.5 hours to Palisade, where in summer, orchards all over burst with the town’s prized peaches. Then, with space left on your camera-phone for one more astonishing landmass, take the scenic Rim Rock Drive through Colorado National Monument, 32 square miles of sandstone plateaus and rock formations with plenty of roadside overlooks along the route.
A new skyscraper in New York’s midtown Manhattan that towers 150 feet above the Empire State Building transports visitors in glass elevators up the sides of the building to an observation deck high above the city.
One Vanderbilt is a 1,401-foot office tower next to Grand Central from developer SL Green and architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. The 77-story, 1.7 million-square-foot skyscraper is NYC’s fourth-tallest tower. It officially opened to office tenants this past September, and still to come are $220 million in public open space and transit infrastructure improvements.
The Schleiregion including Eckernförde is one of four areas that have been selected for a test project. The project is meant to find out if tourism is possible during a pandemic. DW host Nicole Frölich was in the region.
Before the pandemic, the Italian city of Venice was overrun with tourists – so much so, it was looking for ways to restrict their numbers. Now though, it’s got the opposite problem. Empty streets and waterways, in a city that very much depends on tourism revenue. DW’s Max Zander reports on how Venice is looking to strike the right balance, as it re-opens for business.
Exploring the beautiful Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii. This resort village has 8 towers namely: Rainbow Tower, Lagoon Tower, Grand Waikikian, Kalia Tower, Tapa Tower, Grand Islander, Diamond Head Tower, and The Ali’i. The Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel sits on over 22 acres of beachfront property. It features the largest swimming pool in Waikiki, over twenty-two restaurants, exotic wildlife, and botanical gardens, Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon and historical exhibits on loan from the Bishop Museum.
Alaskan tourism was slammed by the pandemic, including charter tours. One business owner said he typically had as many as 700 tourists a summer, but last year there were just 12. In a push to get tourism to rebound, Alaska is offering to vaccinate tourists for free and with so many already vaccinated there, many are hopeful for the upcoming season.
France, in Western Europe, encompasses medieval cities, alpine villages and Mediterranean beaches. Paris, its capital, is famed for its fashion houses, classical art museums including the Louvre and monuments like the Eiffel Tower. The country is also renowned for its wines and sophisticated cuisine. Lascaux’s ancient cave drawings, Lyon’s Roman theater and the vast Palace of Versailles attest to its rich history.
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