With no Olympics, World Cup, or World Fair, 2011 sounds like a largely uneventful year. That means there’s no major reason to visit (or avoid) any particular city, and no one destination will take over much of the travel media coverage. With that in mind, we guide you to the best city-break options for the new year, where you can catch some exceptional exhibitions.

1. LONDON
Every year is a good year to visit London, but an exception will probably be 2012 before and during the Olympics. So if you’ve never been to the city or wish to return, now’s the time or you better wait a couple of years. You’ll probably see a lot of the city around April in media reports of a certain famous wedding, but we suggest a visit at any time of the year, or perhaps in November for the unprecedented exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings at the National Gallery.
To save you a few pounds, consider getting the London Pass, and for a cultural experience outside the city, plan a visit to Stonehenge.

2. ISTANBUL
One year after it was the European Capital of Culture, Istanbul continues to present a list of major cultural events. In the new year (until the 20th of March), you can see an outstanding exhibition of over forty of Frida Kahlo’s and Diego Rivera’s works at the Pera Museum, and in a short city break in such a large city, you may look into the several organized tours and activities.

3. BARCELONA
You’ve probably seen many Picassos by now, but you’ve never seen an exhibition of the artist’s earliest works like this one. Barcelona’s Picasso Museum, in a co-production with Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum will show works from the early Paris years from June to October. There will also be works by Cézanne, Rodin and Van Gogh who were all inspired by Parisian life in the first decade of the 20th century.
After this exhibition, be sure to also check out the Miró Foundation, and to save you time and money in a short city break, get the Barcelona Card which also comes with a guidebook.

4. NEW YORK
The MoMA is always a must in the Big Apple, and until April 25th you can catch one of several exhibitions worth seeing this year. That’s “On to Pop,” showing works by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, among others. They’re artists who came to define American Pop art, painting the usual objects and images encountered in daily life.
The New York CityPass gets you free admission to MoMA and to a number of other attractions.

5. SAN FRANCISCO
After New York’s, visit San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art which from May to September will co-organize an exhibition with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paris’ Réunion des Musées Nationaux. It will present paintings, drawings, and sculptures collected by the Stein family which lived in Paris in the early 20th century and returned to California in 1935 when the SFMOMA was founded. Their collection was instrumental in the creation of the museum, with works by Paul Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso.
As always, in a short city break, the tourist pass is the best investment, so be sure to get your Go San Francisco Card.

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The Dream Hotel is one of our dream hotels in New York, and that’s why we’ve awarded it one U_Star. So we’re happy to announce the recent opening of The Chatwal by the same owner.
It’s a boutique hotel that stands out for its 1930s Art Deco interior but it also mixes some contemporary design. Located within walking distance of Broadway’s theaters, it’s perfect for travelers looking for the ultimate Gotham experience (there are theatrical references throughout the building, in names like Producers Suite and Directors Suite).
Guests can start their day at the gym or relax at the spa after a long day crossing the city’s streets and avenues. If you don’t feel like leaving the hotel in the evening, you can enjoy contemporary cuisine by accomplished chef Geoffrey Zakarian in “The Lambs Club” restaurant.
Complete hotel information and bookings here: The Chatwal Hotel

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Fans of the famous Magnolia Bakery‘s cupcakes often crossed the street to a biographies-only bookstore that existed on that spot for years (400 Bleeker Street). That’s now a space taken over by Marc Jacobs, but not as a fashion boutique — it’s a book store called “Bookmarc.”
You’ve always been able to find some art and design books in Marc Jacobs’ flagship boutiques, but this is the first books-only store. Actually, it’s more than books, as you’ll also find journals and CDs, writing utensils and key chains especially selected by the company’s creative team.
Also planned are book signings, and the MJ empire plans to expand further in the Big Apple, with an upcoming MJ café. The location will likely be uptown, and although this will be the first café of the brand in New York, it’s not the first in the world. You’ll find a Marc Jacobs café in Milan, in that city’s “Marc by Marc Jacobs” store.

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ROBERT RESTAURANT
While MoMA and its The Modern receive most of the attention, don’t overlook the Museum of Arts and Design and its new restaurant. “Robert” overlooks Columbus Circle and Central Park and features a stylish dining area where contemporary American cuisine mixed with Mediterranean influences is served. From Wednesday to Saturday nights, a live pianist enhances the ambience.

CROSBY STREET HOTEL
The team behind some of London’s top hotels such as the Covent Garden and Haymarket has opened its first hotel in the Big Apple. Since opening a few months ago, it’s already one of the most talked-about hotels in the city, in part thanks to a prime location in Soho by Prince and Spring streets. The interior is made up of modern and antique furnishings, together with original art. Start your day in the outdoor garden before a shopping spree in the neighborhood, and end your night in the luxurious screening room.

CASA LEVER RESTAURANT
In our New York restaurants guide we recommend the acclaimed Sant Ambroeus restaurant and now the team behind it has created another hot table in town. Designed by Marc Newson, the new Casa Lever features Andy Warhol portraits on the walls and offers a menu of Italian classics. It also has an excellent wine list and cocktails menu, in an effort to provide New Yorkers with a true taste of la dolce vita.

Provocateur at Gansevoort Hotel, New York

PROVOCATEUR AT HOTEL GANSEVOORT
The 3 U_Star Gansevoort Hotel is one of the hottest addresses in New York, and it’s become even more so with the opening of Provocateur. It’s an exclusive lounge with a sensual atmosphere created by a lavish décor, and offering private areas for an even more special night of cocktails and light Japanese cuisine.

MAIALINO RESTAURANT
The new restaurant at the Gramercy Park Hotel is a Roman-style trattoria brought to you from the same team that created The Modern at the MoMA in 2005. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with the menu presenting Italian specialties. The dining area features wide windows with park views and a diverse collection of art.

GAGOSIAN GALLERY
Gagosian Gallery’s latest opening is its first shop. It’s found on Madison Avenue and offers publications and limited editions by artists and designers like Marc Newson and Jeff Koons.

LE CAPRICE RESTAURANT
London’s legendary Le Caprice has expanded across the Atlantic and opened in the Big Apple. The menu offers all the favorites from across the pond, while the interior designed by Martin Brudnizki features photographs of supermodel Jean Shrimpton and tiled floors in black and white. It’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and serves a special Sunday brunch.

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The last decade has brought some radical changes to the travel industry. From low-cost airlines, to last-minute online booking, to the large number of stylish hostels, to the boutique and design hotel concept. There were even new destinations, with Eastern Europe (particularly Prague and Budapest) becoming one of the most popular city breaks in the world. Even the city break concept is new, with travels now escaping to somewhere else on a long weekend, or on a business trip, and not waiting for a longer summer vacation to go somewhere.
As one decade closes and another one begins, it’s time to wonder how and where we’ll be traveling ten years from now. What can already be predicted is that during the 2000-teens decade, some cities will stand out more than others. They will either host the world’s major events, or will unveil brand-new projects that will capture the attention of the world’s media and travelers.
At UCityGuides.com we’ve taken a look at the calendar and took our insider knowledge of the world’s top cultural cities, and came up with a list of the cities that will most grab the attention of the travel industry. From New York‘s new World Trade Center and Freedom Tower, to a cleaned up Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics, to the emergence of Lisbon as a cultural hotspot, to the rejuvenation of Seville, we give you a preview of what you’ll be excited about visiting in the near future. You’ll discover that some old destinations are new again, and that some often-overlooked cities will no longer be a secret.
For complete details, take a look at the full list of the 10 City Breaks for the Next Decade.

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Tomorrow New York’s Guggenheim will open a new restaurant called “The Wright,” celebrating the 50 years of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum.
It will only be serving lunches for now, but will open for dinner starting in mid-January. A special brunch will also be available on Sundays from 11AM to 5PM.
The dining area features a sleek design by architect Andre Kikoski and includes a European-style bar in the center for small plates dining. The entire space is a homage to Wright, and reflecting the museum’s contemporary focus there is a site-specific commission by British artist Liam Gillick running up the walls and ceiling. Accommodating up to 58 diners at a time, it will be a comfortable venue with an upscale atmosphere for after a visit to the museum’s exhibitions or any time in between (for reservations, call 212 427 5690).
At the moment the Guggenheim is presenting a Kandinsky retrospective until the 13th of January. It was previously shown in Paris’ Centre Pompidou and Munich’s Lenbachhaus, and is a comprehensive, chronological presentation with over 100 paintings, including some rarely-seen works from private collections.
Solomon Guggenheim bought more than 150 Kandinsky works when he visited the artist’s studio in Germany in 1930, and that is said to have been the inspiration for Guggenheim’s opening of his own “Museum of Non-Objective Painting” in 1939.

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This husband-and-wife team worked together for over five decades until François-Xavier’s death in 2008, but Claude continues to work from her studio in a village outside Paris. As confirmed by this exhibition in New York, their inspiration has always been nature, and their pieces using contemporary electroplating techniques has risen in popularity. One of Fraçois-Xavier’s works sold for over $2.5 million earlier this year when Christie’s auctioned designer Yves Saint Laurent’s possessions.
With much of their work now belonging to private collections, this exhibition on Park Avenue is one of the rare opportunities to see just what makes their sculptures so remarkable, and you’ll be able to see them until the 20th of November.

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We like to walk around cities and apparently modern travelers agree with us because they’ve voted Copenhagen’s Stroget one of the 7 urban wonders of the world. That’s why we love New York’s new High Line and the pedestrianization of Herald and Times squares.
Will Manhattan become mostly car-free? That would be a dream that’s unlikely to ever come true, but what is already one of the world’s best walking cities will only benefit from giving away space for pedestrians and reducing the chaotic traffic from its most popular commercial areas. Imagine a pedestrians-only SoHo?…
The plan was decided by mayor Bloomberg who says this is a way to change the way the city thinks its streets. It’s been reported that it is only an experiment that will last until the end of this year, but could become permanent. Judging from the crowds enjoying the car-free streets, as illustrated on the photo below, we can predict it will in fact become permanent and expand to other areas in the city.
As for the High Line, that’s a former elevated railroad that reopened last June as a “greenway.” It goes from the Meatpacking District to 20th Street, but will eventually go all the way to Midtown, to 30th Street. In 2012, the entrance to the High Line on Gansevoort Street will have a new building for the Whitney Museum which will be designed by architect Renzo Piano.

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New York remembers today the tragic events of September 11 of eight years ago. A preview site of the future of Ground Zero which will also stand as a memorial for the victims has opened nearby just over a week ago, and has become a popular attraction for curious tourists. UCityGuides.com has passed by and found that, as pictured above, there is a model of what the future World Trade Center will look like, as well as real-time images of the construction progress. The site will include a museum, and the hope is that this preview will serve as a way for everyone to participate in the sharing of the 9/11 story.
Complete information is available on the website which also explains how you can support the plan through a tax-deductible donation (another way is to buy some of the merchandise available at the connected shop, which is quite frankly of debatable taste): www.national911memorial.org

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