There is something delightfully focussing about travelling for a singular cultural moment. When my son was not quite two and I was sequestered in Ottawa, far from my U.K. cohort, my friend Hesther phoned from London and asked how long it would take me to drive to the Berkshires. Hesther had been Annie Lennox’s stylist for eons, and Lennox had asked her to help sort through her studio. As they prepared to chuck out years of accumulated stuff, Hesther persuaded her to turn it into an exhibition instead. “This isn’t just any old junk,” she told her. “It belongs to Annie Lennox!” The result was Now I Let You Go…, exhibited at MASS MoCA in 2019 and, most importantly for me, a transporting escape from the mundanity of early motherhood, with the chance to hear Annie Lennox sing and, yes, admire her junk. Those three days felt like a week away. It was a reminder, too, that travelling with a singular cultural aim – whether it’s art, music or a breathtaking garden – makes even a short escape feel like a proper journey. From galleries to gardens to music halls, these five getaways let you immerse yourself in places where creativity takes centre stage.
New York State: Sculpted Body (of Work)
The evocative name of Storm King Art Center alone draws you in and seems entirely apt for the monumental sculptures that inhabit the 500-acre outdoor museum, (it’s actually named after the area’s tallest mountain). With much of the art collection outside, there are no limitations such as ceiling height or scale, allowing artists creating site-specific works to let their imaginations take flight. Set in the dramatically beautiful landscape of New York’s Hudson Valley, many of the colossi dotting the Center’s rolling hills, woodlands and meadows are by equally towering names – think Richard Serra, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and Louise Bourgeois. Pack a good picnic and comfortable walking shoes; you’ll want to spend the day exploring.
Once a hub of the whaling industry, nearby Hudson is a cornucopia of beautifully preserved 19th-century architecture, from Greek Revival to Federal and Queen Anne. The 11-room hotel, The Maker, itself housed across a collection of historic buildings, is the place to stay. Dreamed up by the brilliantly creative founders of Fresh cosmetics, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, their vision and eclectic taste have reached full expression in the elegant, richly layered hotel.
Quebec: Haute Horticulture
Along the mighty St. Lawrence River, 350 kilometres east of Quebec City, perched high on the bluffs overlooking the vast Gaspé estuary, sits the beautiful and cultivated town of Métis-sur-Mer. The area was popularized in the 1860s and 1870s by Sir John William Dawson, principal of McGill University, who came to study local fossils and escape the summer heat of Montreal. But the person who placed Métis permanently on the map was Elsie Reford, a pioneering Canadian horticulturalist and philanthropist from one of Montreal’s most prominent families. Reford began creating the 100-acre Reford Gardens in 1926 around a fishing camp gifted to her by her wealthy uncle, opening the gardens to the public in 1962. She cultivated her passion for rare plants – most famously the elusive blue Himalayan poppy, which she successfully grew despite Quebec’s harsh climate. Today, the historic gardens feature more than 3,000 plant species and are celebrated for intimate pathways, mature trees, wildflower meadows, river views and meticulously designed landscapes. This year marks the garden’s centenary, celebrated with exhibitions, including Mapping Sensitivity, featuring 30 contemporary gardens and installations throughout the estate.
And because this is Quebec, Reford’s original 37-room Villa Estevan houses a superb restaurant helmed by chef Antoine Perreault, formerly of Quebec City’s Auberge Saint-Antoine and Montreal’s Toqué. Drawing inspiration from the landscape, Perreault incorporates edible flowers, fresh herbs and exceptional local ingredients into his seasonal menus.
Stay at the Grande Fleuve Hotel Boutique, a simple and pretty waterfront retreat overlooking the St. Lawrence. Located in the heart of the Gaspé Peninsula, the hotel captures the quiet beauty of the region with its pared-back design and sweeping river views. It is the perfect base for exploring the gardens and perhaps spotting one of the seven species of whales – including humpback, minke and blue whales – that swim here during the summer season.
San Francisco: Brush with Fame
Trying to imagine the artistic revolution that was Fauvism is hard for us in this day and age when Henri Matisse’s work appears on everything from coffee mugs to mouse pads. Yet after seeing Matisse and his cohort’s new style of painting at the annual Salon d’Automne in 1905, critic Louis Vauxcelles dubbed the artists fauves (“wild beasts”) in response to their aggressive brushwork and “unnatural” use of vivid colour. By liberating colour from the constraints of reality (a face no longer had to be flesh-toned, a tree green or a sky blue), they not only scandalized society but paved the way for modern art, influencing movements from Expressionism to Abstraction. The centrepiece of the 1905 exhibition was Matisse’s La Femme au Chapeau, a portrait of his wife, Amélie.
The SFMOMA explores a restaging of the painting’s public debut, bringing together the greatest number of works from that historic display in over a century.
Check into the glamorous Huntington Hotel, a 12-storey retreat in elegant Nob Hill. Originally opened in 1924 as a long-stay hotel, it has been beautifully restored and was reopened in March as a boutique property that evokes the elegance of the Gilded Age.
Los Angeles: Hello, Norma Jeane
It is hard to imagine Norma Jeane Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, would have turned 100 on June 1 this year. Her effervescence is eternal, it seems, and her vibrant, youthful image still radiates in popular culture. The Academy Museum’s new exhibition, Marilyn Monroe: Hollywood Icon, celebrates Monroe not only as a screen legend but as a visionary actor and image-maker. Exploring how she created and shaped her public persona within Hollywood’s studio system, the exhibition features hundreds of original objects, including posters, photographs, portraits and costumes from films including Some Like It Hot (1959) and the iconic pink dress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953).
Monroe’s favourite hotel to stay at while she was filming was the glamorous Beverly Hills Hotel, known as the “pink palace”. Steeped in legend and almost as iconic as the bold-faced names who have stayed here, lounging by the palm-tree-lined pool, whose cabanas boast the hotel’s famous banana leaf wallpaper, makes even us ordinary folks feel fabulous.
Mexico City: Escape in Styles
Hurry up and get your Harry Styles tickets in one of North America’s most vibrant venues, Mexico City. The cost of the flight will be offset by the wonderfully reasonable price of the tickets compared to the other venues on his Together, Together tour (at press time, they were going for as little as US$100). Styles is arguably the most charismatic performer touring the globe today, and his concerts have a massive feel-good factor thanks to his euphoric fans who take Styles’ “Treat People With Kindness” mantra to heart. While you’re here, spend a day immersed in the dreamlike world of architect Luis Barragán, beginning at Casa Gilardi, where vivid planes of colour and light create theatrical moments, before moving to his UNESCO-listed Casa Luis Barragan, a masterclass in quiet geometry, shadow and serenity, and ending at Casa Pedregal, where architecture and Mexico’s volcanic landscape converge.
Stay at Ignacia Guest House in Roma Norte, one of Mexico City’s most buzzy and walkable neighbourhoods, not too far from Estadion GNP Seguros. The design-forward, nine-suite Michelin Key boutique hotel occupies a 1913 Beaux-Arts mansion, where original orange trees remain in the garden and the striking modern addition is linked by a glass walkway above the courtyard. The interiors embrace colour, with each room devoted to a rich palette of brown, pink, blue or black, accented with furniture from acclaimed Mexican designers.
