By: Jacqui Agate | From: The Times
Why do you love the US so much? As someone who has dedicated her career to telling stories about the States, it’s a question that I’m asked often — and it’s one with many possible answers. The simplest is: you could visit 100 times and no two trips would be the same.
The US is a continent mustering its best impression of a country. In a decade of travels in this big, beautiful, complicated nation, I’ve hiked in snow-crowned mountains, chased the sun on Pacific Coast beaches, museum-hopped in titanic cities, and had the best meals of my life in small towns you could blink and miss.
The country’s culture is every bit as diverse as its terrain and I relish cracking open a new slice of it each year. Most recently, a spry octogenarian taught me to flatfoot dance in the depths of Appalachia, while indigenous guides led me through the land that’s set to become America’s newest national park. I found one of the country’s finest art museums in the depths of the Ozarks (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in Arkansas, if you were wondering), and drank old fashioneds at breakfast in bourbon-soaked Kentucky. The only thing that no longer surprises me is how often the US surprises me.
This new year brings a renewed crop of reasons to visit — and with them, more fresh perspectives on a country that feels both warmly familiar and wonderfully exotic. Plan a 2025 trip to visit newly opened luxury hotels that are sure to become landmarks; attend art festivals on tropical islands; ride new rail routes; and celebrate pop culture anniversaries in style. Whether it’s your first, or your 100th, a trip to the US is always one worth taking.
43. Texas
San Antonio heritage
There are 26 Unesco world heritage sites in the US and among them is San Antonio’s string of 18th-century Spanish missions. They comprise the San José, San Juan, Espada and Concepcion Missions (all protected as the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park) and the Alamo, where the crucial Battle of the Alamo was fought in 1836 during the Texas Revolution. The missions’ aim was to assimilate the area’s indigenous peoples into Christian ways of life. This complex history will be explored at a new world heritage centre, set to open in February. The exhibit-filled space will introduce the missions and include displays on local art and culture. While in town, wander the Riverwalk and sample some of America’s best Tex-Mex too. The historic and luxurious Gunter Hotel will also be opening after renovations in the spring, offering a base right on the Riverwalk.
Details Room-only doubles from £188 (thegunterhotel.com). Fly to San Antonio via Dallas