Cultural spectacles to add to your calendar next year

There’s a load of art, pageantry and storied settings going through a transformation to look forward to next year. If you’re one who appreciates witnessing the magic of history unfolding before your eyes or finding new thrills amid the familiar, mark your calendars. You’ll definitely find your fix of arts and culture at a celebration of Vincent Van Gogh in Paris, all the way to a new lease of hipness at Ubon Ratchathani.

A 2023 exclusive: The coronation of King Charles III

Location: London, United Kingdom

Visit London in May, and you’ll time your trip with a truly historic event: the coronation of King Charles III. Rooted in longstanding tradition and stately splendor, the symbolic religious ceremony will take place in Westminster Abbey on May 6th – the only remaining ceremony of its kind in Europe. To see the King’s crown up close – an impossibly heavy, solid gold 17th century crown that’s only used for the moment of crowning itself – head to the Tower of London, where it is displayed amongst other regalia that’s used during and after the coronation ceremony. 

Whilst you’re there, immerse yourself in the lives of the royal family at unique exhibitions and tours around Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace and Buckingham Palace. Turn your travels into your own royal excursion by heading out into the English countryside to visit some of the locations used in Netflix’s The Crown: don’t miss Winchester Cathedral or Salisbury’s Wilton House – the series’ most Instagrammed location – which was used to recreate the sumptuous interiors of Buckingham Palace. —Christie Dietz

Celebrate the 170th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh

Location: Paris, France

Housed in a 19th century railway station and home to the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, the Musee d’Orsay is a must-visit for art fans on any trip to Paris. However, with 2023 being the 170th anniversary of one of Western Europe’s greatest post-impressionist artists, Vincent van Gogh, there’s no better time to go. 

The Dutch painter spent the last years of his life in France, and his final months living in an artists’ village north of Paris called Auvers-sur-Oise, where he completed almost one work a day until his death. Showing at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris from 26 September 2023-28 January 2024, the Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months exhibition features 50 of his paintings, as well as some of his drawings and sketches, that have never been exhibited together. The location where Van Gogh painted his final masterpiece, “Tree Roots”, was discovered in 2020 and can be visited on a private tour of Auvers-sur-Oise; a unique opportunity to visit the site where Van Gogh put brush to canvas for the last time just hours before he ended his life. —Christie Dietz

The curious case of Nami Island

Location: Seoul, South Korea

It’s a favorite K-drama filming spot whatever the season. The 2002 classic Winter Sonata, partly shot in Nami Island, is often credited with having played a large part in kicking off Hallyu, or the Korean wave, a pop culture phenomenon that’s captivated the world. In the spring, Nami Island is covered in cherry blossoms, making its annual Cherry Blossom Festival a popular tourist attraction. The island turns lush and green in the summer. For the more active visitor, water sports during this season are highly recommended. Later in the year, autumn colors are vibrant with hues of red and orange all around, quite the opposite of the striking all-white landscape in winter.

Apart from the scenery, Nami gives visitors the unique experience of being in a place that is not in Korea. This is because the half-moon shaped island has declared its cultural independence from the Republic of Korea. This micro-nation has its flag, anthem, currency, and even an entry visa. But don’t worry – the entry visa is just another name for the entry fee that already includes the ferry ride to the island. Also, the South Korean won is widely accepted everywhere on the island. Because the place covers over 40 hectares, head off to these five places first to make sure you catch the most scenic spots of the island: The Gingko Tree Lane, Baekpungmilwon Maple Garden, First Kiss Glass Sequoia Bridge, Tulip Tree Lane and Weeping Willow Lane, and the Nami Island Millennium Waterfall.
—Mae Young

Head for the cool mountain air and quaint outskirts in Shifen

Location: Taipei, Taiwan

A picturesque settlement in Taipei’s mountainous outskirts, Shifen is often bracketed together with Juifen, another nostalgia-inducing village, but the two locations are miles apart and have little in common aside from being old mining areas. Juifen’s famous landmark, A-Mei Tea House, will be familiar to fans of the movie Spirited Away, but other locales are largely devoted to eccentric snacks like the decidedly polarizing stinky tofu.

Shifen is an altogether different rural excursion, with the journey as integral to the experience as the destination. Riding the Wenhu MRT line to its penultimate stop Muzha, disembark to board a bus that’s also covered by Taipei’s iPass, and travel through winding hillsides to Shifen Visitor Centre. Walking around this stunning area in Pingxi County is an unalloyed delight, starting with a 15-minute hike across suspension bridges above Keelung River. This awe-inspiring jaunt – a world away from Ximending’s neon hullabaloo – culminates in the transporting vision of Shifen waterfall, Taiwan’s “Little Niagara”, the broadest cascade in the country. 

Shifen Old Street, meanwhile, teems with gently antiquated appeal – it’s built around the Pingxi Small Railway Train’s tracks, a throwback to the Japanese era now repurposed as a passenger train connecting with Ruifang, central Taipei. Ignore the red-lantern vendors; Shifen’s real pleasures lie in the breathtaking confluence of natural and man-made treasures that elevate this village beyond the merely touristy.
—Jonathan Evans

Take a heritage tour with a difference

Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

When old structures disappear, the stories they hold risk fading from memory. As skyscrapers continue to rise all over Phnom Penh, now is the time to behold the historic buildings that remain. For an enlightening fix of history and culture, as well as an alternative way to tour the city’s diverse quarters, Khmer Architecture Tours’ range of themed tours makes an immersive half-day trip. 

The 20-year-old company focuses primarily on standout structures from the post-independence heyday of New Khmer Architecture, instigated by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, which fused modernism with distinctly local styles – many of which survived the Khmer Rouge’s ravages but fell into neglect in later years. One tour, in a remorque (four-seater tuk-tuk carriage), focuses on the buildings of Vann Molyvann, Cambodia’s most renowned architect, including his remarkably prescient work at the University of Phnom Penh and the National Sports Complex – affectionately known as the “Olympic Stadium” despite never hosting the Games. 

Another journey around the old Post Office, and near the Central Market, installs guests in a period-appropriate cyclo (pedal-powered rickshaw) to gaze at French colonial architecture, as well as later buildings. There’s also a tour of religious structures, covering Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Catholicism in the Cambodian context. 

Guides are architects themselves or knowledgeable students, revealing not just the story behind their subjects but also how architects incorporated material, climate and tradition into the buildings. The abiding feeling is that with gatekeepers as informed and enthusiastic as they are, these glorious structures will be safeguarded for some time yet. —Jonathan Evans

A bold, new creative scene

Location: Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

A young generation of Ubon Ratchathani residents returning to the northeastern city after working in Bangkok and overseas are creating a cultural landscape in which temples and temple festivals are no longer Ubon’s main draw. These bold entrepreneurs have taken over abandoned downtown buildings boasting Sino-French architecture more typical of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. One such makeover, Songsarn, draws a loyal daily crowd for its expertly roasted Arabica and pastries, as well as periodic art exhibitions, music events and talks.

On the culinary front, Zao Ubon focuses on authentic, uncompromised Ubon cooking. Even snooty Bangkokians who claim to find plaa raa (known locally as padaek, a fish sauce made from river fish and sticky rice) disgusting are usually won over by the rich dishes at Zao, including a somtam made with fresh watermelon chunks instead of papaya, and a generous dose of padaek.

Complementing trends in coffee and cuisine, Vela Warin boutique heritage hotel started life as a three-story warehouse built in 1937. Five years ago, Apiwat Suparkon, the owner’s grandson, retrofitted the building and turned it into an 11-room hotel decorated with Isan fabrics and handicrafts in subtle, updated ways rather than the more cliched Isan-styled hotels seen elsewhere. —Joe Cummings

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