In 1619, the area that includes the Jamestown Settlement, Williamsburg and Yorktown was home to some of the most significant events in American history: the official arrival of the first African slaves to North America, the convening of the first representative assembly in America and the first recorded proclamation of Thanksgiving in the New World. The Aalborg Akvavit distillery is being transformed into a new creative district over the next two years, presided over by a soaring glass polygonal sculpture by artist Tomás Saraceno, Harbour Gate from architect Bjarke Ingels, a hotel and more. Nordkraft, a power plant that was converted into a cultural hub, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with events in September. The curvilinear concert hall Musikkens Hus was recently followed by the vibrant Aalborg Street Food market the pedestrian and cycling Culture Bridge and the undulating Vestre Fjordpark, with an open-air swimming pool that meets the sea. Wildly innovative buildings have sprouted on its shores, including the Utzon Centre, designed by Jorn Utzon, the architect of the Sydney Opera House – its new exhibition series on inspiring Nordic architects, runs through May. Today, the city is turning its most famous natural asset into an artistic one. Viking long ships once glided through Aalborg’s mighty Limfjord. And a Japanese startup, Ale, launched the Shooting Star Challenge, a microsatellite that will create the world’s first artificial meteor shower, aiming to fill Setouchi’s skies in spring 2020, a taste of the high-tech one-upmanship to come in Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics. In 2019, Setouchi Sea Planes will expand its scenic flights to several smaller islands and towns via Kodiak 100s. For those seeking more sybaritic forms of transport, the Guntu – more a minimalist floating ryokan than a cruise ship – with 19 walnut-clad rooms and open-air cypress soaking baths. New trails and a dedicated Shimanami bike ferry that opened in October connect Japan’s main island of Honshu to the region’s lesser-visited island of Shikoku. One hour south via ferry or the Shinkansen bullet train, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum reopens this spring after an eight-year refurbishment. The Setouchi region will host the Setouchi Triennale 2019, a major art fair held in three seasonal instalments. Perhaps it would not be such a stretch to redefine the relationship between leisure travellers and their dream destinations. The idea that as visitors we should not cause harm and should seek out authentic experiences that get us deep into the local culture. The island and the other beautiful places at risk raise an urgent question: do we owe something to the places that make us happy? “This is the new normal, and people have to look at this new normal and embrace it,” says Martha Honey, executive director of the Centre for Responsible Travel in Washington DC. That is why Puerto Rico earned the number one spot on our annual list of 52 places to visit in the coming year. The cities where a combination of climate change and bad planning has resulted in devastation. The arctic spots where winter itself is under threat. Puerto Rico is representative of the many fragile places around the globe right now: the islands facing a future of sea level rise and extreme weather.
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