We have a soft spot for history tours, especially when they start and end at gilded 19th-century hotels.CHICAGO – I travel for stories that local people, buildings, and food have to share. A recent tour of Palmer House Hilton, the oldest hotel in Chicago, delivered on all three.The History is Hott tour, led by resident historian Ken Price, started in the hotel’s museum, a tiny room tucked away on the mezzanine level. Every available surface

When celebrity stylist and Hollywood native Adir Abergel isn’t doing hair for celebs like Charlize Theron and Keri Russell, he’s exploring the world or his own LA backyard with equal amounts of verve and passion.LOS ANGELES - The beautiful city of Los Angeles is my home. I love this place — I love the natives and I love the transplants. Hollywood is where I grew up, right across from the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. I currently live

50 BoweryNew York, New YorkTrendy, $$ (from $169)NEW YORK CITY – Though lower Manhattan has never been at a loss for nice hotels, Chinatown proper has long been short a cool boutique. Enter 50 Bowery, Joie de Vivre’s first property in New York City, located at the heart of downtown’s oldest thoroughfare. Much like the surrounding area, the hotel is a melting pot. Theres a bustling pan-Asian restaurant in the lobby. The permanent exhibition

Hotel KabukiJapantown, San FranciscoModern, $$ (from $199)With its quirky craft shops, trendy ramen bars, and vibrant, well-preserved history, San Francisco’s Japantown, one of only three remaining in the United States, is a fascinating, if not downright cool, place to visit. Should you want to spend the night (and you should), your inn of choice is a neighborhood classic: Hotel Kabuki, which recently underwent a major renovation by Brookly

Stuttgart, the charming town in southwest Germany, is the place to come for fancy cars, massive beer festivals, and wines with a view.STUTTGART, Germany — I love a good party, so I lept at the chance to attend Stuttgart’s Canstatter Volksfest, a grand beer festival that celebrated its 200th in 2018. Also luring me were the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums (I love fast cars, too), the promise of vineyards draping leafy city hillsides,

Theres something about Venice and its dramatic, crazy romantic, tragic might-sink-one-day destiny, that pulls at all our heart strings. Fathom contributor Jesse Oxfeld cruises down the canals to a wonder of a hotel that carries history through its walls and a few Freudian slips. VENICE, Italy — Venice is beautiful, magical, and profoundly, wonderfully strange. It can feel, in some ways, like a Disney ride — be sure to keep your

Searching for a European city under the tourist radar? Follow CNNs Sally Kohn to Spains capital city — a diamond in the rough.MADRID — Here’s my problem as a traveler: I have champagne tastes and a Bud Light budget. Okay, maybe that’s overstating it. Let’s say, I have a local craft brew budget: I want top experiences, but don’t want to pay top price.Madrid is the perfect city for me. It’s like Paris, only more manageable in eve

Did you hear the news? Fathom wrote a book. Travel Anywhere (and Avoid Being a Tourist) is 200 beautiful pages of our favorite travel recommendations, suggestions, anecdotes, and photos — plus our best tips for how to be a better traveler. Its basically the collective Fathom brain on paper.We are really excited about the book — and we cant wait for you to read it. And tell us what you think on Facebook or Instagram or old-school

Loews Regency San FranciscoFinancial District, San FranciscoClassic, $$$ (from $469)If youve never put San Francisco and incredible views into one thought before, its because you havent looked out the window at the Loews Regency San Francisco. From the sprawling landscape of the city to the endless blue bay and the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge, this is one panoramic town that needs to be seen from the sky. The Financial District mainstay,

Artist Residence BrightonBrighton, EnglandTrendy, $$ (from $180)When Justin Salisbury left university to help his grandmother run the family B&B, a modest operation in a townhouse on Brighton’s elegant Regency Square, he invited artists to decorate the guest rooms in exchange for overnight stays, an economical approach to renovation. The result: Artist Residence Brighton, and with it, the start of England’s quirkiest hotel mini-chain, which

The other night in New York City, we had a party to celebrate the launch of Travel Anywhere (And Avoid Being a Tourist), our new book. (Youve heard about it, right?)The event, held at the headquarters for iHeart Media, was hosted by iHeart CEO Bob Pittman, who gave a really warm introduction before turning the mic over to Fathom co-founders Pavia Rosati and Jeralyn Gerba, who each read excerpts from the book and answered questions from Trav

It’s nearly impossible to plan a trip to South Africa without coming across at least one of The Royal Portfolio hotels. The South African hospitality firm oversees some of the continent’s most beloved boutique properties, including a safari lodge in Kruger National Park and an elegant farm in the Cape Winelands. We spoke with founder Liz Biden about her second act as a successful hotelier and what makes her hotels so special. Tell us about

There’s more to Johannesburg than meets the eye. Use this guide to plan your trip to South Africa’s cultural capital. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - In a country thats boldly taking steps out of the shadows of apartheid, Johannesburg has established itself as the cultural capital of South Africa — and perhaps the continent. Grittier than world renowned Cape Town, the up-and-coming city is home to international fashion publications, reno

Ever considered Taiwan for an East Asian getaway? You should. The country is brimming with great food, great shopping, and beautiful nature — at prices that will make you do a double take. Head to the capital of Taiwan — and then to its outer neighborhoods — to take it all in. Fathom contributing editor and Singapore native Becky Cheang shows us around.TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan is Asia’s most underrated country. With e

Last night in New York City, we threw a party at Michele Varian, the dreamiest designer home goods boutique in SoHo, to celebrate the launch of Travel Anywhere (And Avoid Being a Tourist), our new book. (Ring a bell?)We had tasty snacks, FeverTree soda, and many bottles of rosé, which we consumed from chic Moroccan glassware. The medley of mesmerizing home goods from around the world were highly coveted by everyone in attendance — the

Hoxton HolbornLondon, EnglandTrendy, $ (From £99/$128)Londons creative class is ditching the pubs and heading to the Hoxton Holborn for the lively after-work bar and dining scene in its eclectic, hipster-chic lobby. A stones throw from the Theatre District, Covent Garden, and Soho, the hotel — like the other outposts in the growing Hoxton chain — doubles as an affordable boutique retreat and a welcoming co-working space for entr

Milan — once overlooked as the middle child of Italy — is really enjoying its moment in the spotlight. There may be more to the city than fashion and design, but, wow, does it do those better than anyone.MILAN, Italy — Milan is not like Rome, Florence, Venice, and Naples. It’s not an idyllic grand tour destination that hypnotizes visitors with listless, collective memories from centuries past. No, Milan is the kind of

A river cruise experience through scenic Portugal. For someone who never thought shed want to board a cruise ship.DOURO VALLEY, Portugal — Not so long ago, Spain was attracting all the attention on the Iberian Peninsula. Today, it’s Portugal’s turn to shine, in no small part due to the hillside vineyards and vibrant cities that make it a destination worth swooning over.Having already visited Lisbon and neighboring Sintra, I was eager

Tourism means a lot to El Salvador. In 2016, more than seventeen percent of the country’s GDP came from El Salvadorans living abroad and sending money back home. A tight-knit community wants that to change — in part through new, thoughtful modes of tourism.EL SALVADOR – “Wait, you’re going where?” “Are you even allowed to go there?I heard a handful of comments like these — as well as one from a friend who simply d

Theres one thing the tech giants of Seattle cant express deliver, recode, disrupt, or add an i to — the beloved and tried-and-true classic bars, restaurants, and local hangs that keep the citys heart beating. SEATTLE — I have spent the better part of my 43 years living in Seattle in a neighborhood just east of downtown. (I am not from the suburbs, nor will I ever be.) I have watched Seattle grow from a sleepy Pacific North