PALMER’s Editor-at-Large on where to eat, stay and play all summer long.
For great FOOD: Mantova is one Italy’s tastiest cultural and culinary capitals, thanks to the extraordinary ducal palace of the Gonzaga family, and the city’s extraordinary food. Ristorante il Cigno at Piazza Carlo D’arco 1 has been around for ages, for good reason.
For great SEX: Reykjavik, Iceland, has great clubs, great looking people, and the night literally never ends in summer. Love you all night!
For great WELLNESS: I went to the thermal springs at Terme di Saturnia in the Maremma last month. Massage. Mud bath. Nuff said? More on this in the next Carnet de Voyage.
For great EXERCISE: Mexico City is huge, highly walkable, and endlessly enticing. Spend a day circling the National Museum of Anthropology, the largest museum in the country and one of the world’s best, and another climbing the pyramids at the ruins of Teotihuacan and blow your mind while shrinking your waist.
For great SLEEP: After finishing my latest book, I slept 11 hours a night at Ksar Char Bargh, a Moorish palace in the Marrakech countryside. Surrounded by nothing but not far from that city’s multitude of delights, it’s as seductive as any hotel I’ve ever visited.
For great SHOPPING: Downtown Los Angeles is in the news for all the wrong reasons. I never want to stop spending when I visit DTLA, as it’s been branded, and its latest attraction, The Row, at 777 South Alameda –an outdoor mall of sorts on 30 acres of what was once the L.A. Terminal Market, tucked away near the sprawling city’s produce and food distribution centers—is even better.
For GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL: Cavallo is an easy hop from Corsica, but looks like the far side of the moon. Its clear turquoise waters and the worn down granite rock formations on its shoreline have made it a favorite of royals and the yacht set since the 1960s. With only one hotel, Hôtel & Spa des Pêcheurs, and a handful of rental villas, it’s hard to stay there, but that makes it even more attractive to my inner Greta Garbo.
For great SWIMMING: I’m a broken record on this subject for good reason. St. Barthélemy has more than a dozen beaches, all no more than fifteen minutes from each other. They are nude and clothed, rough and bathtubs, long and short, pebbles and sand, snorkelable and wind-surfable.
For great ART: I’ve been all around the world, but only Luxor’s Valleys of the Kings and Queens made me feel like I’d left this world entirely. Ancient art so perfectly preserved you’ll feel like a time traveler.
For great ARCHITECTURE: Vienna, hands down. But don’t forget to look up. Its rooflines are a wonderland.