Taking time out for a treat is essential in these difficult times. And it needn't cost a lot, even in London. The shop-until-you-drop city has lots of affordable spas, and it's got the latest craze: Garra rufa fish that nibble your tired feet.
The city that never sleeps expects that the number of visitors this year
could top the record 47 million who came in 2008. To cope with the
crowds, lots of new budget hotels offering tourist-friendly rates of
$200 to $250 have opened their doors.
When it comes to extravagant hotels, Atlantis The Palm on the man-made
Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai is exceptional. You can stay in an
underwater suite there. Make a short video, and you could win a trip
there and bring nine friends along as well.
"Grace Kelly: Style Icon" at the V&A is arranged in three sections, tracing her evolution from Hollywood star to real-life princess. The outfits on show include the black chiffon dress designed for the Alfred Hitchcock classic Rear Window.
There's no sign on the door, but if you're at 394 Broadway in South Williamsburg, you're in the right place. Moto sells some seriously good beers such as Corsendonk from Belgium and Guinness from Ireland.
Afternoon tea is served in teacups with milk and sugar. It is accompanied by sandwiches, traditionally cucumber and ham; scones, with butter and jam; and cakes such as Battenberg. The ideal background music is "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty.
"Age does not protect you from love. But love protects you from age." — Anaïs Nin. She was the lover of such literary greats as Henry Miller, Antonin Artaud and Edmund Wilson. So, in the spirit of ageless love, let's go looking for romance.
The place to go this year is Istanbul: along with the Ruhr Valley and Pécs, Hungary, it's one of the three European Capitals of Culture. Mike Pilewski takes us to the megacity on the Bosporus in a land caught between East and West, between tradition and modernity.
Before you go Saturday shopping down the King's Road, get a pumpkin at Partridge's Food Market in Chelsea. Afterwards, the Zombie Walk is your chance to take part in a legendary Halloween London pub crawl that involves drinking in 12 bars in seven hours.
The Washington, DC, tourism office has created a website for Dan Brown
fans. And the National Museum of Women in the Arts, originally a
Masonic temple, has an exhibit called "Telling Secrets: Codes,
Captions, and Conundrums in Contemporary Art".
