Elsewhere called. It misses you. In fact, it wants you to hit the road soon. Here are 16 destinations (alphabetically arranged) that look especially pleasing in 2016.
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Botswana
It鈥檚 a smallish country, about the size of France, with not quite two million people. But Botswana, in southern Africa, has the Okavango Delta and the vast Central Kalahari Game Reserve. In fact, 38 per cent of the country鈥檚 territory is set aside for national parks, reserves and wildlife management areas. And as of 2016, it also has 50 years of independence. Before 1966, it was a British protectorate known as Bechuanaland.
Now, as a democracy with a reputation as the least corrupt country in Africa, Botswana is an increasingly popular destination for safari-seekers. In the delta, you can canoe past hippos. In Moremi Game Reserve, you see lions on the prowl. In Chobe National Park 鈥� well, you鈥檒l find about 50,000 elephants for starters. Among tour operators offering safaris here are Abercrombie & Kent, Micato Safaris and Wilderness Safaris.
Info: botswanatourism.co.bw
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Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman makes a great gateway to Yellowstone National Park 130 kilometres south, in part because of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Day by day, this college town (population: about 42,000) seems to sprout more reasons for a visitor to linger, especially if it鈥檚 summer. The Lark Hotel, opened early this year, has transformed an old motor lodge into a snappy, stylish stop. In its parking lot is the gleaming silver trailer of Victory Taco, a casual food stand that鈥檚 also a popular summertime ice cream stop for families strolling Main Street.
For more grown-up pleasures, there鈥檚 Montana Ale Works, which serves hearty meals and about 40 draft microbrews in a big, old railroad freight building. Locals line up for breakfast at the Nova Cafe and Main Street Overeasy. But do remember to get to the national park. It was America鈥檚 first, after all.
Info: downtownbozeman.org
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Cartagena, Colombia
This Caribbean-facing coastal colonial city is far safer than it was in the dark days of Colombia鈥檚 internal strife at the turn of the 21st century.
The colonial city centre is rich with boutique hotels and restaurants made from old homes. La Vitrola is a long-standing see-and-be-seen restaurant; gourmets head for Carmen Cartagena (seven-course tasting menu, $78 US, plus wine).
Instead of arriving by way of Bogota or Medellin, many U.S. travellers now fly straight to Cartagena from New York鈥檚 JFK (JetBlue), Fort Lauderdale (JetBlue) or Atlanta (Delta). Intercontinental, Radisson and the W brand opened hotels here in 2014. A stylish Delano Cartagena is due in 2016.
The previously gritty Getsemani neighbor is especially trendy, with night spots and the upscale 10-room Casa Lola hotel (which occupies one building from the 17th century and one from the 19th). For information on crime and safety, see the federal travel advisory on Colombia.
Info: ticartagena.com/en; travel.gc.ca/destinations/colombia
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Dublin, Ireland
A hundred years ago, Dublin鈥檚 Easter Rising launched Ireland on a path to independence from British rule. The armed insurrection brought bloody results, including the execution of 16 leaders, but in 1922 the Irish Free State was established. In months ahead, dozens of centennial events are planned in Dublin, including an exhibition at the National Library of Ireland, lectures at Trinity College and various historical re-enactments.
The National Museum of Ireland will unveil Proclaiming a Republic: the 1916 Rising on March 3. On Easter Sunday, March 27, at 1:15 p.m., wreath-laying ceremonies are planned at spots throughout the city.
Info: ireland.ie; museum.ie
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Harlem, New York
For too long, Manhattan above 110th Street was terra incognita among tourists. But that鈥檚 been changing as the area gains prosperity. Harlem Heritage Tours offers half a dozen itineraries, as does Big Apple Jazz Tours. On lively 125th Street, there鈥檚 the Apollo Theater, opened in 1934 and busy with music and comedy acts as well as Wednesday-night amateur acts. Nearby stands the Studio Museum in Harlem. Sylvia鈥檚 may be the neighbourhood鈥檚 best-known restaurant (especially its Sunday gospel breakfast). But there鈥檚 plenty more well-loved soul food at Amy Ruth鈥檚 Restaurant and Miss Mamie鈥檚 Spoonbread Too. The Abyssinian Baptist Church gets so many Sunday morning tourists that it urges visitors to attend 11 a.m. services, leaving the 9 a.m. service to members.
Info: Harlemheritage.com; bigapplejazz.com
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Iran
Iran is full of historic towers, mosques and squares, especially in the ancient city of Esfahan (where the atmospheric Abbasi Hotel is a favourite of western visitors).
Persepolis, not far from the city of Shiraz, holds some of the most striking pre-Christian ruins outside of Egypt and Peru. Both destinations are well removed from the Iraq and Afghanistan border zones, which travellers are urged to avoid. Tehran, more modern, includes many museums.
To get there, North Americans often fly to Istanbul, then continue on to Tehran or Esfahan. At Distant Horizons in Long Beach, California, owner Janet Moore says she is sending 14 groups to Iran in 2016 鈥� twice the number she sent in 2014.
Info: distant-horizons.com
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Myanmar
The allure of its culture and scenery has never been in doubt. And now, after decades as an outcast nation controlled by the military, it鈥檚 edging toward the mainstream.
Myanmar鈥檚 largest city, Yangon, is full of faded grandeur that will remind some people of an Asian Havana. The Shwedagon Pagoda is a 335-foot golden spire (crowned with diamonds, rubies and sapphires), the nation鈥檚 most revered Buddhist site.
The plains of Bagan, along the Irrawaddy River, are dotted with hundreds of 11th to 13th century temples (and popular with balloonists). Irrawaddy cruises between Mandalay and Bagan are offered by Avalon Waterways, Belmond, Viking River Cruises and others.
Lodging can be buggy and rustic, and infrastructure is shaky, but change is coming: Hilton opened hotels at Nay Pyi Taw, the capital, and Ngapali in 2014, with others to follow at Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay in 2017.
Info: myanmartourism.org; lat.ms/1QNND4W
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Natchez, Mississippi
This small Mississippi city, about 275 kilometres upriver from New Orleans, celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2016. Natchez is on a bluff above the Mississippi and full of tragic, surprising history (it seems to be the oldest settlement on the river) and elegant architecture. It鈥檚 also the southwestern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 715-kilometre scenic highway through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee that was once a Native American trail.
No billboards, no businesses, no commercial vehicles but plenty of cars and bicycles. Natchez has home and plantation tours; horse-drawn carriages; art galleries; a Museum of African-American History and Culture; more than 40 bed-and-breakfasts and Natchez National Historical Park.
That park preserves Melrose, the antebellum Greek Revival mansion of plantation owner John McMurran, and the downtown brick home of African-American barber and diarist William Johnson.
Johnson鈥檚 brick home and McMurran鈥檚 white-columned mansion give different windows onto life in Mississippi before the Civil War. The city鈥檚 birthday celebration at Fort Rosalie, Aug. 3, will feature a 300-gun salute.
Info: visitnatchez.org; nps.gov/natr; natchezms300.com
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Orange County,
California, coast
This territory is about as pleasant as California gets. And as these four examples show, improvements continue.
In Dana Point, the completion of a $30-million US overhaul at the St. Regis Monarch Beach is expected in the spring. (It has two goats on site to supply fresh goat cheese for the restaurants.)
Another five-star property, the Montage Laguna Beach, upgraded its spa offerings and further gilded its Catalina, Sunset and Aliso suites. The former Aliso Creek Inn has been reborn as the Ranch at Laguna Beach. Many rooms opened late last year; the rest, as well as a lobby and restaurant, are due to open this spring.
The property aims to be a four-star 鈥渞anch chic鈥� resort (with nine-hole golf course and spa). Rates start at about $249 US a night, but once all work is complete, they鈥檒l jump up. At Newport Beach鈥檚 Island Hotel 鈥� the former Four Seasons property next to Fashion Island 鈥� a major upgrade was completed this year, delivering a new Oak Grill and bolder colours in the hotel鈥檚 292 rooms.
Info: stregismb.com; montagehotels.com/lagunabeach; islandhotel.com; theranchlb.com
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Paris
Many travellers cancelled their Paris plans within a week of the terrorist attacks against the city on Nov. 13. (City tourism officials say the hotel occupancy rate dropped 15 points between Nov. 13 and Dec. 8.) Yet many other travellers, eager to send a message of defiance, resolved to get there as soon as possible.
You can join the latter group any time in 2016 and, chances are, get a warm welcome. The main attractions reopened quickly. At the Grand Palais, the blockbuster Picasso.Mania exhibition, which explores the artist鈥檚 influence on those who came later, will stay up through Feb. 29. The Philharmonie de Paris, a 2,400-seat music venue in the Parc de la Villette, opened this year. And the Mus茅e de l鈥橦omme, which explores anthropology, reopened in October after six years of renovation.
But Paris officials expect first-quarter tourism to be down 10 per cent to 15 per cent. That, along with the strong US dollar, seems to be reducing hotel and tour operator prices.
Info: en.parisinfo.com
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Penang Island, Malaysia
George Town (population about 500,000), Penang鈥檚 main city, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a 500-year history of trading and a hotel boom in progress. As many as 10 new hotels may open in 2016, and a bevy of cruise lines call at the port. With luck, this growth will leave intact the city鈥檚 most historic architecture and encourage its lively food scene. George Town was a British trading post from the early 19th century (hence its name) until Malaysian independence in 1957. It gives you British echoes, Malay essence, Chinese and Indian commercial traditions, scattered rickshaws and a stew of religions.
Info: tourismpenang.net.my
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San Sebastian, Spain
This city, part of the Basque Autonomous Community on Spain鈥檚 northern coast, is one of Europe鈥檚 two 2016 cities of culture. Stroll the creamy sands of Concha and Ondarreta beaches. Take a boat ride to uninhabited Isla Santa Clara. Try surfing at Zurriola Beach. Learn the word pintxo (peen-cho), which are the small plates that figure prominently in Basque cuisine.
Bilbao, home to the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum, is about 105 kilometres to the east. San Sebastian also has a long roster of civic celebrations, including notable festivals of jazz (July) and film (September).
Info: dss2016.eu/en;
sansebastianturismo.com/en
Seattle
The Seattle light-rail system in April will add stops in Capitol Hill (perhaps the city鈥檚 best restaurant neighbourhood) and the University of Washington. Later in the year, a new streetcar line will connect Capitol Hill to Pioneer Square.
Meanwhile, Pike Place Market will sprout a new western entrance, terrace and plaza area called Marketfront, making room for 47 new market stalls. A Thompson hotel is due to open in 2016 at First Avenue and Stewart Street.
Info: visitseattle.org
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Stratford-Upon-Avon, England
Because a mysterious writer and actor named William Shakespeare died in 1616 at age 52, his hometown makes an especially ripe destination. The Royal Shakespeare Co., with two theatres in Stratford, will mount productions of Hamlet, A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream, Cymbeline and Don Quixote (written by Shakespeare鈥檚 Spanish contemporary Cervantes between 1604 and 1615).
In Stratford, where legions visit Shakespeare鈥檚 birthplace and grave, a 鈥淪hakespeare鈥檚 Schoolroom鈥� attraction is to open in April in the city鈥檚 15th-century Guildhall. April 23, long celebrated as the day of the bard鈥檚 birth and death, will be especially busy.
Info: shakespeare400.org; lat.ms/1O9wUE6
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Washington, D.C.
When its doors open in the fall, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will become the 19th museum in the Smithsonian family, a project more than a decade in the making. Meanwhile, D.C. tourism leaders estimate that more than 200 restaurants have opened in the past three years 鈥� pretty good for a city just 25 kilometres square.
Alongside the Potomac River, the long-closed Watergate Hotel is due to reopen in March after a $125 million US renovation. Among its features: a rooftop bar (Top of the Gate); staff uniforms designed by Mad Men costumer Janie Bryant; and rates north of $500 US a night. Also, no matter the results of the Nov. 8 election, there will be a new Trump in town 鈥� a Trump hotel, due to open in the fall after a $200-million renovation of the Old Post Office building.
Info: washington.org; s.si.edu/1uQwVU5
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Williamstown, Kentucky
Here鈥檚 a destination for the traveller who鈥檚 been everywhere and done everything. In Williamstown, a devoted creationist group is building an ark, a 510-foot-long wooden sailing vessel that matches the one described in Genesis.
If all goes as planned, the Ark Encounter (and petting zoo) will open July 7, a date chosen based on another passage in Genesis. The builder is AiG (Answers in Genesis), which also runs a Creation Museum nearby in Petersburg, Kentucky.
The Cincinnati Enquirer estimated the project鈥檚 cost at $92 million, paid for with private money, loans and advance ticket sales. Tickets are $40 US per adult, plus $10 parking.
Info: arkencounter.com; answersingenesis.org
