Andorra
PHOTO:PAWEL TOCZYNSKI/GETTY IMAGES
This mountainous principality tucked in the Pyrenees between France and Spain is well worth a weekend visit for its sweeping mountain views, medieval architecture, and endless hiking trails. And now, adventure outfitter Epic Andorra is giving outdoor enthusiasts a new way to appreciate the microstate. It recently debuted Travessa Andorra, a trekking itinerary that can be customized in three-, four-, and five-day routes, depending on how much ground you're game to cover. The journey involves walking, biking, skiing or some combination thereof; snowmobiles and 4x4 can also be deployed on the longest trips. Each night, Epic Andorra will set you up with accommodations in some of the region's traditional bordas (erstwhile shepherding outposts that have been converted into charming cabins). Regardless of which option you choose — the longest goes from La Rabassa to Ós de Civis, the shortest from Pas de la Casa to Arinsal — you're guaranteed to pass through spectacular scenery filled with rugged peaks, winding rivers, and picturesque villages. —Sarah Bruning
Advertisement
Berlin
PHOTO:RAFAEL DOLS/GETTY IMAGES
There are plenty of compelling reasons to point yourself toward this mitteleuropa metropolis of 3.5 million in 2021 and beyond. Joining other art-and-culture heavy hitters on Museum Island, the long-awaited 323,000-square-foot Humboldt Forum flicks on its lights for the first time in Summer 2021. Part faithful reproduction of a royal Baroque palace that once sat on the same site, the structure boasts exhibition halls, including the Ethnographical Museum, and four restaurants. The city's main repository of 20th-century art, the Neue Nationalgalerie, shut down for renovation in 2015 with no discernable re-opening date. Finally, the day has come: this August, the gallery will show off its renewed high modernist design, complete with the signature clean geometric forms and immense glass windows of original architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. But perhaps the biggest cause for celebration occurred last autumn, when the infamously delayed Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport finally opened for commercial airlines to begin their initial descent into the German capital. —David Farley