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Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum

Those who’ve roamed the streets of Paris have a preference for when the city is at its best—in the summer, in the spring, or even at midnight. But winter is when the tourist-free streets of Paris are at their prime, Akhil Sharma says. “Streetlamps have a halo,” he writes.“ There is the sense of discovering something secret.” After a run along the Seine, and a visit to Paris new and old, nowhere compares to the frosted city. After all, Sharma writes, “Paris is like pornography.” The photographs say it all. Paris, 1954

Bruce Davidson / Magnum

Paris, 1962

Bruce Davidson / Magnum

Paris, 1962

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Winter is when the tourist-free streets of Paris are at their prime

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Martin Roemers / Panos Pictures

Metropolis

By Martin Roemers As of the last day of October, seven billion souls inhabit this planet. That estimate is according the UN’s Population Fund, which also says that half those people are city-dwellers. About 35 years from now, two-thirds of the world’s population will reside in cities. With this in mind, I am photographing the world’s megacities, places where the population is measured in millions. How can people live in such immense, crowded places? For all their chaos, big cities still have a sense of humanity. That’s what I want to reveal with these photographs—both the dynamic character of the city, and the individual humans, the urban travelers, who call the metropolis home. Here, a crowd throngs a roadside market as buses loaded with still more people drive past in Karachi, Pakistan.

Martin Roemers / Panos PicturesMartin Roemers

Cairo

Sellers and shoppers on a street in Cairo, one of the world's most notoriously overcrowded cities.

Martin Roemers

Bombay

A market in a Muslim quarter of Bombay's city center, near Mohammed Ali Road.

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The global population today is more than twice what it was just 50 years ago.

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Michael Christopher Brown for Newsweek

Bringing the Cultural Revolution to Your Dinner Table

As China's communist party celebrates its 90th anniversary, crowds are packing into Beijing’s cultural revolution-themed restaurants, where patrons can eat their way through a tumultuous history. In this week’s NEWSWEEK, Melinda Liu reports on the booming popularity of these “Red Restaurants.” Liu paints a picture of a typical Saturday night at the Red Scene, where servers dressed like Red Army soldiers, Red Guards and peasants dance to revolutionary songs while delivering food. There is even a skit “showcasing the persecution of an evil landlord, who is being beaten and forced to wear a pointed dunce cap.” Catering to a certain “revolutionary nostalgia” the restaurants’ menus riff on the era’s hard times: “dandelion-leaf salad and raw cucumbers to symbolize the grass and bark that some poor Chinese ate,” or “‘the Chairman’s Favorite’—roast fatty pork.” The restaurants, which have been around since the 1990s, are peaking in popularity due to 90th anniversary celebrations and related attractions—including tours to sites along the Long March route which have brought in a reported 1.35 billion visitors, or a fifth of all tourism traffic. —Genevieve Walker

Michael Christopher Brown for Newsweek

A hostess dressed as a Red Guard waits for customers at the Red Scene, one of Beijing’s lunch and dinner “red restaurants.”

Michael Christopher Brown for Newsweek

A performer dressed as a Red Army soldier waves a flag while standing on a chair, performing to a crowd that has either forgotten or never experienced the strife of the Cultural Revolution.

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Bringing the cultural revolution to your dinner table.

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From American to Continental to JetBlue, these are the airlines with the fewest on-time arrivals and departures.

Chris O'Meara / AP Photo

#13, Airtran

Serious delays: 71 Total operations: 1,295,082 Total on-time performance: 77.96% Carrier delays: 3.80%

Matt Rourke / AP Photo

#12, Southwest

Serious delays: 362 Total operations: 5,869,931 Total on-time performance: 80.43% Carrier delays: 4.86%

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From American to Continental to JetBlue, these are the airlines with the fewest on-time arrivals and departures.

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Michael Dweck: Habana Libre

Michael Dweck

Michael Dweck: Habana Libre

Cover of Habana Libre featuring Artist and Dweck muse Rachel Valdes

Michael Dweck

Michael Dweck: Habana Libre

The Peace Without Borders Concert, Revolution Square. The extreme heat brought the umbrellas out early. Habana, September 2009

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ISRAEL LEAL

Mexico is determined to replace the country's bloodstained image with an exotic one. From Tulum to Morelia, see photos of the most luxurious—and safe—tourist destinations.

Marco Ugarte / AP Photo

San Miguel de Allende

Not far from Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende has attracted artists and writers since the 1940s with its quaint cobblestone streets and brightly colored 16th- and 17th-century architecture. In the past 10 years, Mexico's hospitality industry has capitalized on the city’s attractions, luring tourists with stylish boutique hotels and restaurants that infuse the colonial town with a touch of modernity. Dubbed by Travel + Leisure as the city’s equivalent of a Four Seasons, the Casa de Sierra Nevada is as luxurious as it gets. But art enthusiasts might opt for the Casa Rosada Hotel, the former home of Diego Rivera’s daughter.

Israel Leal / AP Photo

Tulum

On the southern edge of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, Tulum is a hotspot for ecotourists and yoga retreats. Gussied-up thatched huts line its relatively pristine white sand beaches, where many hoteliers have built smallish, ecofriendly lodges and resorts. One of the newer, more luxurious hideaways is Ocho Tulum, which boasts beachfront cabanas, palapas massage rooms, and free Russian Gypsy card readings. Urbanites in particular are drawn to Tulum's hippie atmosphere, where they can fantasize about ditching the corporate world for a more laidback lifestyle.

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Mexico is determined to replace the country's bloodstained image with an exotic one. From Tulum to Morelia, see photos of the most luxurious—and safe—tourist destinations.

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SufEyeSee / Flickr

From Colorado’s vibrant Kenosha Pass to Thoreau's famous Walden Pond in Massachusetts, the U.S. is home to a host of gorgeous trails. View photos of the most colorful, scenic, and invigorating autumn expeditions.

National Park Foundation / AP Photo

Acadia National Park, Me.

The first national park east of the Mississippi River, Acadia National Park, located near Bangor, Me., features mountains, lakes, forests, and an ocean shoreline on more than 47,000 acres. There are about 125 miles of national hiking trails that range from “very easy” (smooth path over level ground), such as Bar Harbor Shore Path and Cadillac Summit, to “strenuous” (steep grades, many steady climbs), such as Acadia Mountain Trail and Champlain Mountain. In addition to the archipelago of islands known as the only fjords on the East Coast, Acadia National Park is one of the first places in the U.S. where you can see the sun rise.

Boston Globe / Getty Images

Walden Pond, Mass.

Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., from July 1845 until September 1847, and recorded his time there is the book Walden, considered one of the founding works for conservationists. Walden Pond is a designated National Historic Landmark and has 462 acres of open space surrounding the 102-foot deep glacial kettle-hole pond. Walden Woods, a mostly undeveloped forest of 2,680 acres, surrounds the reservation. Walden Pond is a frequent swimming spot in the summer, and the trails around the reservation are a great hiking destination in the spring and fall. There’s no better place to walk than the place where Thoreau declared, “Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds that hang over our brows, and take life into our pores.”

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From Colorado’s vibrant Kenosha Pass to Vermont’s rocky Camel’s Hump, the country is home to a host of gorgeous trails. View photos of the most colorful, scenic, and invigorating autumn expeditions.

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Got some free time this summer and a driver’s license? From the towering trees of California’s Redwood Highway to a 50-mile joyride along the coast of Maui, The Daily Beast has the ultimate rundown of the most scenic drives in the United States.

Douglas C. Pizac / AP Photo

Yellowstone Grand Teton Loop

Wyoming, Idaho, 263 miles Home to grizzly bears and roaming herds of buffalo, Yellowstone and the Tetons are a wildlife paradise. The Yellowstone Grand Teton loop takes you through the heart of the Wyoming Rockies to explore the nation’s first national park before making its way down the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway to the majestic Teton mountain range. The last leg of the loop winds around shimmering lakes and the towering Tetons, whose snow-capped peaks rise 13,000 feet. Be sure to take your hiking boots to explore world-class trails; mine your own opals at Opal Mines of Spencer, the “Opal Capital of the World”; or stop at the 114-foot Mesa Falls in Fremont County.

Richard Nowitz / Getty Images

Hells Canyon All-American Road

Idaho, Oregon, 208 miles For more than 200 miles of blue skies, fresh air, and barely a soul in sight, the Hells Canyon All-American Road is one of America’s most peaceful highways. You’ll pass sparkling rivers, dip through lush valleys, or even share the road with a cattle drive. You’ll also see panoramas of the Oregon Rocky Mountains. Hells Canyon, the namesake of this scenic highway and its primary destination, is the deepest canyon in North America. The river gorge is the perfect stop for the adventurous, with plenty of opportunity for whitewater rafting, hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing.

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From the towering trees of the Redwood Highway to a 50-mile joyride along the coast of Maui, see photos.

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With busiest beach month now upon us, The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to figure out which sand-and-surf destinations are America’s favorite.

Bruce Lipsky, Florida Times-Union / AP Photo

1. Jacksonville Beach, Fla.

Attendance 2010: 9,000,000 Resident Population: 22,051

JIM WATSON

2. Ocean City, Md.

Attendance 2010: 4,000,000 Resident Population: 6,998

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The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to figure out which sand-and-surf destinations are America’s favorite.

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Santini / De Agostini /Getty Images

Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite is open 365 days a year, but May and June are the only months when every area of the park is likely to be accessible. All of the water flowing into the giant reserve, located in eastern California, comes from snowmelt, so early summer also means that the waterfalls will be flowing powerfully. Finally, the park will be covered in wildflowers, since most of that blooming occurs in June.

AP Photo / National Park Service

Glacier National Park, Montana

Montana’s Glacier National Park is a destination for 2 million visitors every year. Though it’s open all year, extreme winter weather causes many facilities to close at unpredictable times. Most of them are back on track from May to September, making June a perfect time for a visit. One great hiking option is the Hidden Lake Nature Trail. It's a 1.5-mile self-guided trail that runs to the Hidden Lake overlook, which provides a great view of the majestic water. Along the way, you can observe abundant wildflowers, which are protected by a boardwalk.

Hutch Axilrod / Getty Images

Kalalau Trail, Hawaii

Take a break from the beach and take a hike along the Na Pali coast of Kauai. The trail stretches for 11 miles along scenic, rugged coastlines. The trail offers the only land access to this part of the coast; it crosses above towering sea cliffs and through five valleys before ending at Kalalau Beach. This summer vacation excursion is not for the faint of heart; it takes most backpackers in good condition a full day to traverse.

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From the Appalachian Trail to the rugged paths of Yosemite, some of the nation’s best sights don’t come alive until the summer months. See photos of the best adventures.

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Wasserburg, Austria

Just 30 miles west of Vienna, this castle has been inhabited since 1185. But no worries: It’s been thoroughly updated. The original moat has given way to a scenic modern pond that surrounds the castle. It sleeps 18 people in nine bedrooms, and the ground floor has a sauna. The royal digs even come with horses in the castle’s surrounding park. All this can be yours for only €13,200 per week, or about $18,748. A cook will cost you extra though.

Ballyseede Castle, Ireland

This 23-bedroom castle dates back to the 1590s, and it was converted into a hotel in 1965. A night’s stay costs about €115, or $160, and includes a full Irish breakfast. The castle has a rich history of leasing: The legend goes that Sir Edward Denny rented out the castle in the 1590s to Thomas Blennerhassett for the rent of a single rose to be presented each year on Midsummer’s Day.

Walton Castle, U.K.

From its stately position atop a hill overlooking the Bristol Channel, Walton Castle in Clevedon has 360-degree views of six counties in England, and a bit of Wales, too. The manor’s site dates back to the Iron Age and is actually mentioned in the Doomsday Book, though construction on the current structure began closer to 1615. Today, it sits on 3.8 acres and adjoins the Clevedon Golf Club. The castle keep comprises the main parts of the accommodation, but there are also suites located in the outer turrets. Modern amenities include an indoor pool and plasma televisions.

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Forget the Hilton—these getaways are truly royal. From a hilltop English fortress to a 16th-century Moroccan palace, these spots offer kingly retreats for the adventurous commoner.

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Gnarly

When Waves Became Cool

Surfing’s Gnarly Golden Age

He’s a photographer who was lucky to grow up during Australia’s surf revolution. The pioneer talks to Josh Dzieza about his new book.

by Josh Dzieza

Island Time

Adventures in Puerto Rico

No Shirt, No Shoes ...

Kara Cutruzzula combs the beaches—and blackjack tables—of Puerto Rico for the meaning of ‘vacation.’

by Kara Cutruzzula

Directions

A Love Letter to New York

Maps of the Heart of Manhattan

In ‘Mapping Manhattan,’ explore the city via 75 New Yorkers’ personal geographies. By Allison McNearney.

by Allison McNearney

Around the World

Spotlight on the City

Bristol, Bridge to the Wide World

Travel writer Sara Wheeler, famous for her stories of polar expeditions, returns home to her city: Bristol.

by Sara Wheeler

In a Name

Please Call It Bombay

by Dilip D’Souza

Perth

Australia's Outpost at the Edge

by Barry Lopez

St. Petersburg

The Miracle on Marshland

by Josip Novakovich

Not for Amateurs

Tackling São Paulo

by Antônio Xerxenesky

Instagram Away!

Nine Hotels for Hipsters

AP (2); Corbis (1)

Everyone travels occasionally—even hipsters. But while the rest of us are stuck in crowded resorts, they live it up in cool, creative hotels and hostels. But no more!...

130306-hipster-hotels-motana-magica-lodge

Courtesy of Huilo-Huilo

The Montana Magica Lodge

The Montana Magica Lodge, or the Magic Mountain Lodge, rests in the middle of the Chilean rainforest and is accessible only by a tiny, unsafe looking wooden bridge—making it the perfect spot for hipsters to play their guitars or...

130306-hipster-hotels-shakespeare-and-company

Shosan/Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

Opened in 1951 as a tribute to an earlier bookstore by the same name that closed during World War II, the English Literature bookstore in Paris has housed more than 40,000 people in its 13 beds over the years, according to the...

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From the Belgian shipping container to the Japanese sleeping capsules, see photos of the hipster hotspots.

After Dark

Seven South American Night Trips

Getty;AP;James Florio;Zuma Press

For most, the idea of South American nightlife conjures images of scantily clad tango dancers, strong caipirihnas, and clubbing until sunrise surrounded by beautiful bronzed people....

James Florio/elquidomos.cl

Elqui Domos, Pisco Elqui, Chile

Nearly 400 miles north of Santiago in an area of Chile known for its pristine skies, Elqui Domos is a hotel dedicated to all things cosmic....

Babek Tafreshi/Getty

Iguazu Falls Moonlight Walk, Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Stretching 1.7 miles across the Argentina-Brazil border and measuring 269 feet high, Iguazu Falls is a spectacular sight at any time of day....

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From stargazing in Chile to a moonlight walk to Iguazu Falls, here are seven excursions to take after the sun sets.

Bloom Time

Spring Has Sprung!

Brendan Hoffman/Getty

Around the world, cherry blossoms are reaching their peak, outdoor markets are opening for the season, and short shorts are being unpacked and dusted off—spring is finally upon us....

Philippe Wojazer/Reuters/Corbis

Paris

Vegetables and daffodils are seen on a 150-square-meter garden installed on the roof of the Palais de Tokyo museum near the Eiffel Tower in Paris....

Mario Tama/Getty

New York

People soak up the sun in Tompkins Square Park during warm weather on April 9. For the first time since October, temperatures rose above 70 degrees in New York and surrounding areas.

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After a long, cold winter, spring is finally here—and we couldn’t be happier. See gorgeous photos.

New Year, New You

Eight Top Relaxation Spots

Adam Woolfitt/Corbis

Steam in a Turkish Hamam

Depending on where you go, the Turkish hamam ranges from a luxurious tourist-centric respite to an integral part of daily life for locals....

China Photos/Getty

Get Your Back Cupped in China

Chinese traditional medicine comes in numerous forms and functions. Be warned: cupping is not the relaxing experience you may be seeking, but its benefits are said to be worthwhile....

Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis

Float in Israel’s Dead Sea

If it was good enough for Cleopatra, it’s good enough for you. The Dead Sea, 1,388 feet below sea level, is the saltiest body of water on earth. It’s also incredibly mineral-rich, in both water and mud....

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Start the year off right by restoring your body and soul in one of these top spots for relaxation.

Sites We Like!

Gettin' Buzzed

25 Drunkest U.S. Cities

Denis Jr. Tangney/Getty

Burlington, Vt.

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.2 Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 19.4% Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 7.5%

Mark Duncan/AP

Cleveland

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.1 Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 20.4% Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.5%

Tom Gannam/AP

St. Louis

Avg. alcoholic drinks consumed by adults per month: 13.4 Percentage of population classified as binge drinkers: 18.0% Percentage of population classified as heavy drinkers: 6.1%

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With New Year’s toasts ahead, The Daily Beast calculates the cities with the highest alcohol tolerance.

Vintage Travel

When Flying Was Fun

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

When Airplanes Had Legroom

Once upon a time, flying was fun, comfortable, and glamorous....

Bettmann / Corbis

Make Yourself at Home

Passengers got cozy aboard the short-lived Boeing Stratocruiser. Complete with spacious, bunk-bed-style cabins and a VIP lounge and bar, this double-decker plane made long, intercontinental trips a breeze.

Bettmann / Corbis

The Glamorous Crew

Flanked by two stewardesses, Captain L. L. Treece makes his way to the crew lounge after a quick flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

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In honor of Thanksgiving, we look back at the golden age of airline travel and the celebrities who flew.

Globetrotting

Plan Your Next Trip!

12 Places to See in 2013

Need to plan your next grand adventure? From Burma to Cuba, 12 places to see this year. By Nina Strochlic.

by Nina Strochlic

Travel

OMG, I Want This House!

by The Daily Beast

This former pig shelter turned farmhouse makes for a relaxing—not to mention charmingly... More
Boston Feels the Pain

by Paul Theroux

When travel writer Paul Theroux returned to his hometown after the marathon bombing, he... More
Rainy With A Chance Of Art

by Kara Cutruzzula

MoMA’s new exhibit gives visitors godlike powers over weather. More

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