A Much-Needed New Hotel Opens on the Mississippi Blues Trail
Posted on 10/16/2019, 4:15 PM
This past summer, The Cotton House in Cleveland, Mississippi, opened as a major boutique-style hotel in the Mississippi Delta, a part of the country that hasn’t usually been strongly associated with full-service accommodation. Up to now, most road trippers on the Blues Trail, the world-famous music-and-history circuit around the birthplace of the blues, would usually need to make do with b...
New Museums Explore Weimar Germany's Pivotal Role in 20th Century
Posted on 09/25/2019, 4:45 PM
Last month marked the 100th anniversary of when a national assembly was convened in Weimar in central Germany to write a new constitution for that country after its defeat in World War I. The shaky democracy that resulted, known as the Weimar Republic, lasted only 14 tumultuous years, leading to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933. A new history museum, the House of the Weimar Republic, tel...
Will Fall Foliage Be Worth Seeing This Year in New England? Here's An Expert's Forecast
Posted on 09/03/2019, 8:15 PM
New England’s fall foliage show is right around the corner. Leaf peepers are polishing their binoculars, planning their routes, and booking their B&Bs. In preparation for this popular season, I spoke with Mel Allen, the Editor of Yankee Magazine, to get his take on what road trippers can expect in the coming months. Pauline Frommer: I need to start this interview by saying that the website of ...
Key West Hotels Introduce "Underwater Library" with Waterproof Books
Posted on 08/26/2019, 5:00 PM
Reading while lounging next to bodies of water is so popular it spawned a whole literary genre. But here's the thing about beach reads: There's a very real chance you'll ruin the book if you get it wet. Two hotels in Key West, Florida, have devised a clever solution to this perennial vacation problem: waterproof books. The new "underwater library" is an aquarium tank stocked with fully submerge...
Museums Across the USA Will Be Free on Sept. 21—Here's How to Get Your Tickets
Posted on 08/16/2019, 12:00 AM
A big reason why Washington, D.C., is one of the world's best cities for museum-going is that the Smithsonian Institution's attractions—including the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History (pictured), the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and many more—charge no admission to see their impressive collections. On Saturday, September 21, museums ...
Living the Good Life (Affordably) In and Around Traverse City, Michigan
Posted on 07/26/2019, 1:15 AM
In some ways, the Inn at Black Star Farms recalls Tara from Gone with the Wind. Guests are greeted in a marble-floored lobby embedded with a black star (hence the name) in front of a grand curved staircase wide enough for hoopskirted damsels to make a glam entrance. The property is not, however, from that era or located in the South. It's in Michigan's Leelanau County and was built in the 1980s...
Visiting This Australian Museum Will Require Flippers and an Oxygen Tank
Posted on 07/24/2019, 12:00 AM
Deep-sea divers with an interest in sculpture should mark their calendars for December, when the first installation of visionary artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s Museum of Underwater Art is set to be unveiled at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. (Image by Jason deCaires Taylor) The MOUA, which will eventually comprise works at several spots around Queensland, will debut with a coastal-bas...
Tinder for Art: Atlanta Museum Helps You Find Works by Swiping Right
Posted on 07/23/2019, 1:30 PM
Bringing new meaning to the term "art lover," Atlanta's High Museum of Art has introduced a Tinder-esque online tool to match visitors with works based on likes. Dubbed Heartmatch, the web-based feature presents a series of objects—paintings, sculptures, installations, and whatsits—from the museum's massive collection, and, just as in dating apps, users can indicate their preferences by swiping ...
An Adult Returns to Sleepaway Camp at Interlochen Arts Camp in Northern Michigan
Posted on 07/22/2019, 2:00 PM
Proust had his madeleines. But for me, the sight of a vanilla-and-chocolate swirled cone being served through a window marked “Melody Freeze” was a memory prompt. With the first lick, I was 14 years old again, at a time in my life when music and theater meant everything. I was at Interlochen, known in my adolescence as the National Music Camp, a place I’d once thought was only for kids like me. B...
Pauline Frommer: I'm Often Asked How to Become a Travel Writer, And I Suggest This Event
Posted on 07/02/2019, 12:00 PM
Every year, I give about a dozen speeches on travel across North America. When I sign books afterwards, a familiar scenario inevitably will play out. I’ll hand back the book that I've just autographed and notice that the individual standing in front of me looks very, very nervous… and doesn’t want to move away from the table. She or he will chit-chat for a few minutes before taking a deep breath ...
The American Economy is Losing Billions from the Current Trade War: Arthur Frommer
Posted on 06/19/2019, 11:00 AM
Supporters of the president’s trade war against China are undoubtedly unaware of the impact of that angry policy on the number of Chinese tourists visiting the United States. I have read countless reports of that trade war, and not one of them (up until now) includes even a passing mention of incoming tourism from abroad. But recently, numerous newspapers have carried stories about a sharp...
