A legendary street-food scene
Seemingly impossible to get to, this archipelago of 18 craggy islands in the North Atlantic is more accessible than you might think. Direct flights to the Faroes run year-round from Denmark, England, Iceland and Norway. For the intrepid traveller who’s prepared for ever-changing weather, the Faroe’s remote landscape of unspoiled moorlands, dramatic fjords and bird-rich cliffs are rewarding. This year, book your trip to coincide with a celestial event. On March 20 at 9:41 a.m., local time, the Faroes make history as one of only two places in the world where you can view the total solar eclipse. (The other land-based viewing point is Svalbard, Norway.) But book early. On this 1,399-square-kilometre archipelago, accommodation options are limited. And since Scandinavians love to throw a good party, expect to celebrate those two momentous minutes of complete darkness well into the evening.
Prim and proper Singapore is letting her hair down for her 50th. In its Golden Jubilee year, the sovereign city state plans to whoop it up as host of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games (June 5 to 16) and celebrate the opening of major architectural projects, including a redesigned National Museum, a brand new National Gallery and Jubilee Walk, a pedestrian trail with public art that links historic sites to the 57-storey ultra-modern Marina Bay Sands resort. Add to that a burgeoning fine-dining scene (two local restaurants made Asia’s top 10 for 2014, as rated by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna), a legendary street-food scene and hot hotel openings that include the Sofitel So Singapore and the Patina. Singapore is a destination you’ll want to hang out in for longer than a stopover.
Dinophiles have had this small northern Alberta town on their radar since 2013. That’s when ground broke on the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, a research and education centre named after Canada’s most prominent palaeontologist. Scheduled to open this fall, the building is more than a gallery space for old bones. Toronto-based Teeple Architects designed a striking, energy-efficient, timber-truss structure that can handle the temperature extremes of the Prairies. It sits on a four-hectare site, on top of a Mesozoic bone bed, and has classrooms, a 70-seat theatre and an outdoor discovery fossil walk. Budding scientists can tap into the latest findings of research staff, including head palaeontologist Dr. Matthew Vavrek, who recently discovered the fossils of several young plesiosaurs in Nunavut.