There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration getting intimate with a foreign capital city. Better yet is the thrill of discovering a destination that’s on the up.
Plan B Cities, the slightly less busy counterparts to major tourism hubs, are winning our hearts with their strong showing of culture, shopping, dining and wining. Read on for five destinations that would make great pit stops after your next big urban adventure.
Ticked Off Bangkok, Now Try Chiang Mai
Got a case of motion sickness after Bangkok’s fast and furious tuk-tuks? Hop off and head North to the highly walkable old town of Chiang Mai, where there are street eats galore and Lanna-style temples aplenty to explore by foot — within and beyond the confines of city walls. For starters, bookmark Nimmanhaemin Road, home to Chiang Mai’s funkiest shops, and Thaepae Road, a potpourri of old temples, used bookshops and jewellery stores.
Thailand’s Rose of the North prides itself in a spa-tacular array of beauty havens, generous in both space and pricing compared to the capital. Recover from the day’s retail trawl with a fabby traddy Thai massage at Fah Lanna Spa or the sumptuous Spa at Four Seasons, Chiang Mai. And relaaax…
After San Francisco, Do Los Angeles
Are the steep hillsides of S.F. and the useless BART driving you mad? Ditch the Golden Gate Bridge and drive down to L.A. The second biggest city of America technically doesn’t warrant a mere Plan B status, but we’re recommending it anyway for the sunshine, slick shopping and smoothies that claim to have every health benefit short of giving you eternal life. There’s a reason even the snootiest of New Yorkers are heading West en masse: the city is in the midst of a creative boom, with a fledgling underground art scene and an ever-growing line up of snazzy concept stores.
Shopportunity awaits in the form of home inspo mecca Hammer & Spear and Alchemy Works, a lofty, Downtown trove of men’s and women’s togs, local lifestyle labels and designer collabs. As one might suspect, given the stereotype Angeleno, LA is teeming with health nut-friendly dining options, from the exclusively plant-based Plant Food + Wine to the vegan Mexican joint Gracias Madre. Keep doing you, La La Land.
Eat Your Heart Out in Tokyo… Then Fukuoka
Stuffed to the brim with Tokyo’s finest noms? Don’t let the palate titillation stop there: leave some stomach real estate for the culinary treasures of Kyushu. With close proximity to Korea and China, the island has a food culture unlike any other place in Japan, and Fukuoka prefecture is the beating heart of it all. Given its status as the birthplace of Tonkotsu ramen, you’d be a loonie not to slurp on some noodles — swimming in rich and shimmery pork bone broth — while you’re in town.
The region is known for not one, but three ramen styles, all named after distinct neighbourhoods: Nagahama, Kurume, and of course, the iconic Hakata. You can’t go wrong with Ganso Nagahama, a family-run joint with 65 years of history. Be sure to also try Motsunabe, a regional speciality that’s essentially a beef and pork intestines stew with soy and pepper soup base. Itadakimasu, indeed!
Get Buzzed in Hong Kong, Chill Out in Tainan
The Fragrant Harbour offers a dizzying myriad of things to see, eat, shop and savour, but such mutlisensory assault can be overwhelming, to say the least. Opt to detox from the concrete jungle by hopping over to Tainan. Just an hour’s flight from Hong Kong, Taiwan’s oldest city will charm with its quiet streets and low-rise Dutch colonial-era architecture. A stronghold for the Japanese army during its occupation of Taiwan, it has the appearance of a Chinese city tinged with Nippon influences: There are still the occasional public signages in Japanese, and remnants of wartime Shinto shrines are scattered on the outskirts of town.
In more recent years, Tainan has been forging a new identity as the champion of local craftwork. Pick up artisanal sweets and jams, handicrafts — ranging from aprons to soaps to tote bags — and stylish souvenirs at Hayashi Department Store and the Former Old Tainan Magistrate Residence, both formerly derelict historic buildings that have since been transformed into retail emporiums.
Après Paris, Vamos a Madrid
Getting elbowed by tourists in front of the Mona Lisa ain’t anyone’s cup of tea — let alone an art lover’s. Book a quick flight and decamp to Madrid, home to the Golden Triangle: a trio of art museos in the city centre, a mere jamón’s toss from one another. Here, art history is better covered than a politician’s gaffe in the media: The Prado houses the Goyas and El Grecos; Reina Sofia reps C.20th Impressionists and Expressionists (and is host to Picasso’s Guernica), while the Thyssen-Bornemisza offers a peek into a German aristo’s private art stash. Not for the faint of art? El Foro’s shopping doesn’t pale in comparison to the City of Light: Hit up the up-and-coming nabe of TriBall and the El Rastro flea market and start hunting for treats.
Planning your next city break? We publish pocket-sized travel guides on Bangkok, Los Angeles, Madrid, Hong Kong, Paris and more. Let LUXE be your guiding light…
