Travel

Helsinki is an architecture addict’s dream. Layer upon layer of architectural styles have been packed into a remarkably compact and largely walkable city. Even more impressive is how well Helsinki has protected and restored its past while salting in striking new designs that somehow manage to feel sympathetic to what came before them. The result is that almost every block is eye catching. You may find, as we did, that it is hard to make much progress because you are continuou

One of the great joys of London is discovering how quickly you can leave the tourist trail without actually going very far. Most visitors know the bustling stretch of Piccadilly running from the Green Park tube station, past the famous Ritz Hotel, toward Piccadilly Circus and, beyond it, the theaters of Leicester Square and the West End. But turn off Piccadilly and walk just one block south and you enter another world. This is St James’s, a neighborhood of quiet squares, gent

Having many times taken visitors into the Luberon to enjoy its charming hilltop villages, we decided it was time to explore another corner of Provence: the country north of Avignon, in the southern Côtes du Rhône. We had read about a lovely 35-mile or so loop connecting ancient villages, vineyards and wineries tucked around the Dentelles de Montmirail. On a normal day, it would have been an easy and delightful outing. This, however, was not a normal day. It was during the see

We flew to Helsinki in search of something a bit different after spending the previous month in London, and because the beginning of September conveniently marks the start of lower off-season airfares and hotel prices. We got lucky. Mostly clear skies, sunshine and light-sweater days, which are by no means guaranteed in a country where winter has a habit of arriving early and staying late. Helsinki itself is delightful: compact, handsome and wonderfully easy to navigate on fo

I think we all have places in the world, if we are lucky enough to discover them, where our hearts sing and our souls somehow expand. For me, one of those places is Point Reyes, an hour and a world away from San Francisco. I first chanced upon Point Reyes shortly after moving to San Francisco in 1988. I remember cresting the road into the postage stamp of a town, with that first wide vista of Tomales Bay opening up in the distance. It was love at first sight. Nearly four deca