Oui, si, or bai, no matter which langauge you speak, youll want to say yes to a spell at the bohemian playground on the southwestern coast of France. To get the inside scoop, our friends at Roxy hooked us up with pro surfer and photographer Kassia Meador, who hosts the longboard invitational during the Roxy Biarritz competition each year.Best place to stay: Carlina Lodge on Côte des Basques beach.Best surf break: Côte des Basque Castle

AUSTIN, Texas – Style is a way of life for Ruby Nichols, a writer and blogger who seeks out the best in fashion, design, and travel for her site Almanac of Style. Just in time for SXSW, Ruby roots around East Austin for a small and special selection of haunts, hangouts, and designers to watch.

ASPEN, CO – Aspen may be known primarily as a ski town, but that underscores its year-round charms. There’s always something happening in and around town – from snow sculpture competitions and mountainside fireworks to festivals of food, wine, jazz, and ideas (though maybe not all on the same night). Here’s a year-round agenda.SPRINGParagliding: Such drama! Fly off the mountain and into the valley below. Aspen Paragliding are the ones

LAS VEGAS – Theres so much more to Vegas than gambling. Heres a lucky #7 list of things to do in and around town.

Was that a dolphin? A ripple? A manta ray? Or the elusive whale shark? A visit to La Paz, Mexico, brought out contributing editor Lanee Lees inner Captain Ahab.LA PAZ, Mexico – My throat was tight. My breath shallow. My eyes stung from staring hard at the horizon. George Negrete of Fun Baja, the captain of our whale shark hunt, told us to look for shadows in the water or for a fin, like a great white sharks, to find the worlds largest

What does it take to thrill a serious outdoor adventurer in Aspen? A backcountry trek, by foot or by ski. Destination: the huts located deep in the mountain woods.ASPEN, Colorado – As I strapped the avalanche beacon to my body, I realized this was serious backcountry skiing. Was I ready for it?As a Colorado resident transplanted from the Deep South, I had more ambition than experience in the snowy wilderness. But an avalanche safety class a

A jaded New Yorker goes to Las Vegas and scores more than she bargained for. Observations from the 29th floor of the Encore Hotel. LAS VEGAS – Im standing on the white putty of the Vegas desert. Im arrogant, Im all New York, Im wearing APC. I can see the casinos over the terminal and the whole place is bigger than I thought. On the other side of the baggage carousels, people are rolling into yellow cabs like coins somersaulting in

Weve followed Kelley McMillan, our adventurous Indiana Jane, as she dove into Victoria Falls in Zambia and tracked lions in South Africa. Her latest African wildlife discovery, Uganda, may top them all. UGANDA – Uganda unfurls from the capital city of Kampala in green hills, banana fronds, and tawny grasslands. In the west, the savannah rolls right up into the Rwenzori Mountains, the highest mountain range in Africa, which separat

Was it all a winter wonderland dream? A castle made of snow melts into the sea to make room for spring. A story from reader and blogger Frankie Thompson.KEMI, Finland – The approach to SnowCastle is a long, straight road from Kemis town center that leads straight to the sea. In January, when I was there, it was a channel for an ice-cold breeze, lined in thick, white snow. The unaccommodating climate does little to deter the locals

TURKS AND CAICOS AND NEW YORK CITY – I dont really travel for the salt. I travel for the red pepper flakes. Truly: It will take me three lifetimes to go through the mountain of pepper that Ive brought home from Naples, Syria, Sri Lanka, Chile.But last year on an early summer trip to Turks and Caicos, I was inspired not only to bring salt home but to shlep four liters of ocean water from Turks and Caicos back to New York City and MAKE salt i

Sommelier Joe Campanale is renown for finding some of the worlds most interesting wines and featuring them at his  Italian restaurants in New York City, LArtusi, DellAnima, and LApicio, and his wine bar, Anfora. On a scouting trip in Croatia, he added a few more to his list.What brought you to Croatia? I was on a six-day trip with the good people of Wines of Croatia, exploring the emerging wine regions and getting a taste of local cult

BALI, Indonesia – This week, were traveling to Bali, inspired by an incredible trip to Ubud were giving away with Como Shambhala Estate, Cathay Pacific Airways, and L-Atitude.We thought a little armchair travel was in order. To whet the wanderlust.

You can take a hike or rent a bike. Go whitewater rafting or do absolutely nothing at all under the starry skies in Moab, Utah.MOAB, Utah – You need to meet a destination that could change your vacation plans. World, meet Moab, Utah. Like Disneyland for the outdoors, Moab is a magical place with sci-fi rock sculptures, fossilized dinosaur footprints, and Mars-red dirt adventures. John Wayne probably described it best, as “Where God put

LONDON – Which London museums wont bore really little kids? We went straight to a local three-year-old, Otto from Kentish Town, for his favorites.Apparently, theres something so irresistible about the jumping frog at the V&A Museum of Childhood. And just ask him how to get to Bethnal Green.MORE ON FATHOMOttos big brother five-year-old Oscar Gives His FavoritesTen Best London Family HotelsThree Days in London with the Kids

Love first brought Caroline Lubbers to Corfu, the island off the coast of northwest Greece and Albania. Shes returned every year since for the beautiful beaches, lush green hills, and intoxicating spirit. Heres what to do to find all that and more.CORFU, Greece – Love first lured me to Corfu. My husbands father was born on the island and his family remains rooted there. A few weeks into our courtship, my husband invited me for an extended s

If you had to survive without internet access and a digital connection to the outside world, could you do it? Maggie Morris considers the consequences of what we miss when we never turn the blinking devices off.SOMEWHERE QUIET, Nevada – When is the last time you went so far out that your phone didnt work for miles, hours, days? As in no calls, emails, texts, or Facebook/Instagram/Twitter? No way to check in — other than actually

Google exec Maryann Bryant-Rubio had three generations to please in one far-away holiday. Everyone left happy after a week in Bali.THE CHALLENGEFind a holiday destination suitable for a baby and a toddler, their parents, and their grandparents, with sites, good vegetarian food, weather, and lots of beaches.THE SOLUTIONEasy! A villa in Bali near Seminyak, rented through Bali Villa Worldwide. It will set you back a little more than the price

This contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered.When charting new territory, the right bag is clutch. Of a Kind is giving away one Joshu+Vela white oak weekender ($170 value), so one lucky Fathom reader will have just that.For your shot at the prize, sign up for the Of a Kind newsletter, and get weekly inside scoop and special offers from webshops co-founders and official FoFs (Friends of Fathom) Erica

The Amalfi Coasts villa-lined hills and glistening beaches are beautiful from any angle, but hovering at 2,000 feet, Ravellos view might just take the cake. Fathom contributing editor Christina Ohly takes you there.RAVELLO, Italy – Perched high on a hilltop overlooking the Amalfi Coast sits Ravello, a medieval village full of winding cobblestone streets, fragrant gardens, and breathtaking views of the Mediterranean.WHAT TO DORavello offers

Contributing editor Alyssa Shelasky, a New Yorker living in Rome, heads to Venice for her birthday and has her best day ever.VENICE – I am dangling out of an oversized window with Diana Ross on the record player and my boyfriends hand on my ass. Gazing up and down the fairytale that is the Grand Canal, freckles on my cheekbones, champagne in my veins, I sing out loud: This is the best day of my life.Weve just checked into our massive, OMFG,