This week sees the arrival of the March issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine — which marks the full-scale vision of new Editor-in-Chief Pilar Guzmán, who arrived at the publication six months ago.
Guzmán — who formerly headed up Martha Stewart Living and the now-shuttered Cookie magazines — has given Traveler a bolder, more modern, far more fashionable new look; with linear text blocks and tighter feature stories sure to resonate with a younger readership more comfortable with blogs and Tumblr than long-form journalism.
Graced by the ever-graceful Christy Turlington on the cover and featuring a thoroughly global mix of topics and destinations, the new Traveler promises both elegance and exploration. We spoke to Guzmán to discover five key destinations where the new issue will take us.
India
India may not be the newest destination, but what’s new is how we chose to approach it. Our writer was unapologetic in traveling on her own terms — she goes to the Taj Mahal, but also spends a whole day shopping because she needed a break from all that sightseeing. It was important for her to hit key sites, but also to narrow the focus in a country so vast. I also love how she chose to have an immunization party for her co-travelers before departure.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio is obviously on our minds because of this summer’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. We love how Rio may be a place where skyscrapers are going up and new money is pouring in, but you can still feel the past when walking through traditional districts like Lapa. There is great historical and political context everywhere you go.
Rome
We were among the first people to stay in the new JK Place Roma (jkroma.com), which is one of the newest and most interesting properties in town. Rome has always had these grand, iconic properties (like the Hassler), but new spots like JK offer a great place for a cocktail or to just relax. We also chart these interesting Roman neighborhoods with a sort of Brooklyn kind of vibe — areas like Monti, Testaccio and Ostiense; these places are a bit gritty and not as picture-perfect as Rome’s beautiful historic center.
West Texas
We all know about Marfa — which is wonderful — but our writer went way beyond and discovered all sorts of interesting, charming towns few of has ever heard of. They’re places like Alpine, Fort Davis and Marathon — which make for a great loop in the area along the Rio Grande. I love how this story has a little art, a little nature and a little fancy — all set against this incredibly dramatic landscape.
Dearborn, Mich.
This one of those great American destinations that is right under our nose, but we never seem to get around to visiting. A key place we feature is the The Henry Ford Museum (thehenryford.org), which not only houses the 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible in which JFK was shot, but also the actual segregated bus made famous by Rosa Parks in 1955. This city and museum are really these incredible little jewels — and we hope to find even more in future issues.