Explore the heaving metropolis of Bangkok
Young Thais are drawn by the big city lifestyle
A bi-weekly round-up of new hotels and hideaways, treks and tours.
The Mandarin Oriental finally moves into the City of Lights, opening on Paris’s rue Saint-Honoré in the 1er arrondissement on 28 June. Chef Thierry Marx also moves in with the intimate 44-seat restaurant Sur Mesure.
Set sail on the new 100-passenger ship Orion II, launched this month by Orion Expedition Cruises. The ship is able to access remote locations from Antarctica to Asia, and will sail 10-day itineraries around Borneo, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam initially.
The 126-year-old Casa Madrona Hotel and Spa reopened this month on the Sausalito, California waterfront after a multi-million dollar renovation. In addition to redoing the rooms with nautical touches like recycled sea glass, a new 3,000-foot spa has been added.
In New York City, rumour has it that the High Line-adjacent boutique Hotel Americano, the first property outside of Mexico for Grupo Habita, will soft open in July. It has outdoor smoking lounge and a rooftop hot tub with a retractable roof. Perfect for when the hotel officially opens in November.
On 1 July, the Laugarvatn Fontana spa opens in Iceland on the shores of Lake Laugarvatn, only an hour from Reykjavik. The open-air baths, steam and sauna rooms are all heated geothermally between 40C to 50C, and they’ve added a warm sand beach.
The way of the shepherd 
Hiking and houseboats in Sausalito 
Matinee jazz in a Manhattan parlour 
Classic sights in the City of Light 
Italy’s stolen treasures come home 
Living in... cities of the future 
Forms of ID: Geraldine DeRuiter 
My city: Mumbai 
The Spanish ritual of baby jumping 
Beijing’s labyrinth of history 
America’s best little beach towns 
Duct tape designs take form in Ohio 
Reader Q&A: Mini breaks from London 
Johannesburg’s hip transformation 
See eye to eye with a butterfly 
Spain’s super-charged sport 
Walking in Inca footsteps 
Jaffa, an Israeli city in flux 