Spots worth going out your way for. But do what you will. I'm not trying to sell you tyres.
Restaurants · New York, United States
Ace’s serves Detroit-style pizza down on the rink level at Rockefeller Center. Don’t tell the New Yorkers, but I think those thick, crisp-edged squares beat every dollar slice in the city.
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Bars & cocktails · Manchester, United Kingdom
A neighbourhood cocktail bar in Ancoats from the team behind Stray, with DJs at the weekend. I found it on my final night in Manchester and deeply regret the timing. Easily Manc’s vibiest cocktail bar.
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History & culture · London, United Kingdom
The Bloomsbury museum with the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and quite a lot of explaining to do about how it got them. Sure, we stole most of it, but it’s a fascinating visit.
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Theatre & magic · London, United Kingdom
Punchdrunk’s home in Woolwich, where two former Royal Arsenal buildings became the worlds of Greece and Troy for The Burnt City. I saw it 180 times here. Yes, really. Chances are whatever comes next is worth seeing.
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History & culture · Lisbon, Portugal
A hilltop castle with incredible views across Lisbon and peacocks wandering around the grounds. The walk back down through Alfama is brilliant. Do get a taxi up, though.
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Theatre & magic · Paris, France
A Paris cabaret where the lighting does almost as much work as the dancers and there’s champagne if you want it. Very fun. Very camp. Very alcohol.
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Bars & cocktails · Manchester, United Kingdom
A former metalworks near Piccadilly with a warehouse kitchen, a beer garden and a whole bar devoted to daiquiris. The daiquiris and pizzas are to die for, although I swear the pizzas taste a little doughnut-y. I mean that as a compliment.
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Bars & cocktails · London, United Kingdom
There’s a cocktail bar down the stairs of an old tailor’s stockroom in Spitalfields. From the street you’d walk straight past it, which is part of why I think it’s one of London’s coolest bars.
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Restaurants · London, United Kingdom
A taco restaurant under the railway arches at Borough Market. I once ate the entire menu here whilst working through a pitcher of margarita and beginning one of my most important friendships.
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Parks & nature · Bláskógabyggð, Iceland
A two-tier waterfall on Iceland’s Golden Circle, where the Hvítá drops into a gorge and sends spray everywhere. It’s cold here. Bring a coat.
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Theatre & magic · Manchester, United Kingdom
An independent theatre in a former mill in Ancoats, where you can see musicals made for a room small enough to catch every look. The best little producing house in Manchester. It punches absurdly far above its weight.
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Restaurants · London, United Kingdom
An omakase counter in Soho where Angelo Sato cooks a Japanese-led tasting menu. Sato is a Wunderkind, the service is brilliant, and the whole thing is worth every penny. There are, admittedly, too many pennies.
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Parks & nature · London, United Kingdom
One of London’s Royal Parks, with the Serpentine and plenty of room for a picnic. In 2022, I attended a picnic here. It was a genuinely pivotal moment in my life. The park? Eh.
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Attractions · Orlando, United States
Universal’s Orlando park with VelociCoaster and the Incredible Hulk Coaster. It may no longer be the newest Universal park in town, but for my money it’s still the best. A shame about the transphobic author land, though.
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Attractions · Dublin, Ireland
A guided tour and whiskey tasting at Jameson’s old distillery in Smithfield. A fascinating place to learn about… the history… of… sorry, what was the start of my sentence? I’m a bit drunk.
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Restaurants · New York, United States
A big New York diner just off Times Square, where my order is a club sandwich and a slice of raspberry swirl cheesecake. The one trip to New York I didn’t go to Junior’s, COVID happened. Take that as you will.
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Parks & nature · Kobe, Japan
A ropeway takes you up from Shin-Kobe to a peaceful garden on the hillside. The views over Kobe are beautiful and on a clear day you can see all the way across the bay to Osaka.
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Restaurants · Manchester, United Kingdom
An Italian-American supper club in Spinningfields with booths, steaks and live music. I like my steak like I like my jazz music. Simultaneously.
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History & culture · Marrakesh, Morocco
The old walled city of Marrakesh, with a maze of souks around Jemaa el-Fnaa. I got terribly lost here in the days before I had phone data abroad, whilst waiting to meet a producer on a morally dubious television show.
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History & culture · Tokyo, Japan
A Shinto shrine in a forest just off the streets of Harajuku. There’s something transformative about walking through the trees here. You immediately forget you’re in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.
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Parks & nature · Hatsukaichi, Japan
One of my favourite places in Japan. Take the ferry over, ride the ropeway up Mount Misen and leave time for the walking trails. The last stretch to the summit is on foot.
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Restaurants · London, United Kingdom
Tom Aikens serves a tasting menu in a little Belgravia mews house. It’s a beautifully intimate room. Ask for a bar seat by the open kitchen and you’ll get a front-row view of dinner coming together.
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Restaurants · Hiroshima, Japan
Several floors of tiny, independent okonomiyaki counters. Grab a stool and watch someone turn cabbage, batter and noodles into a masterpiece on a hot plate. There’s something magical about food this good in a room that feels this homely.
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Attractions · Plailly, France
A theme park north of Paris built around the Astérix comics. It’s Paris’s best theme park (yes, better than the one with the rodent), with incredible coasters and short queues in my experience.
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History & culture · Paris, France
An ossuary in the old limestone quarries beneath Paris. There’s a feeling you get walking between walls of bones that I still can’t quite describe. It’s fascinating, and by the end you’ll be desperate to get out.
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History & culture · Barcelona, Spain
Gaudí’s basilica in Barcelona. Go when the sun is coming through the stained glass for breathtaking views. Then go up a tower for breathtaking views because you’re scared of falling.
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Theatre & magic · Seoul, South Korea
Punchdrunk’s dreamlike retelling of Macbeth takes over the McKithan Hotel in Chungmuro. You put on a mask and decide who to follow. For me, Seoul is the definitive version. Fortune favours the bold.
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Theatre & magic · New York, United States
A rotating cast of magicians performs tableside at the Overlook Bar in Flatiron, with Todd Robbins as host. World-class close-up magic in even closer quarters, albeit for a hefty fee.
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Parks & nature · New York, United States
An old elevated freight line turned into a park on Manhattan’s West Side. I walk it every trip. I love being up among the buildings and feeling so immersed in the city.
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Theatre & magic · London, United Kingdom
A theatre in the tunnels under Waterloo, once home to Rhythm&Ruse. The Starling may have flown the coop too soon, but this tunnel will always have a special place in my heart.
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Attractions · Copenhagen, Denmark
An amusement park and gardens in the middle of Copenhagen that helped inspire Walt Disney. It’s incredibly charming, and it feels just as good to wander around as it does to go on the rides.
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Attractions · Burbank, United States
A tour of the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank. As a lifelong movie buff, it’s incredible to stand on streets where so much of what I’ve seen on screen started.
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