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National Geographic
4 days ago
- National Geographic
The essential guide to visiting Bermuda
Bermuda's famed pink sand beaches have drawn travelers to its shores for decades. Still, travelers shouldn't miss the rich cultural traditions, historical landmarks, and annual events that are just as alluring. The 21-square-mile island encompasses neighborhoods and natural wonders that provide enough options to inspire any trip. Best time to visit Bermuda Horseshoe Bay Beach is touted as one of the prettiest pink sand beaches in the world. Photograph by Don Mennig, Alamy Stock Photo Summer: Join the bacchanalia of Bermuda's annual Carnival celebration in June. Parties commence on boats and in the streets with soca music and reggae as the soundtrack to the lively events. Head to the famous pink sand beaches of Horseshoe Bay, or experience an exhilarating water sport like freediving through the island's reefs, deep-sea fishing, or a cruise under the Somerset Bridge. In August, the island's largest event, the Cup Match Cricket Classic is a can't-miss event for anyone who wants to truly feel the spirit of Bermuda's excitement for the sport. Spring: Revelers take over the streets in May for Bermuda Day, which commemorates the island's rich heritage through a variety of events, including parades and local art showcases. As temperatures become warmer, enjoy a round of golf with ocean views at one of the island's world-class PGA championship golf courses, Port Royal. Spring is also an ideal time to embrace outdoor adventures like cycling, hiking, rock climbing, and more. Water activities to consider include whale watching, paddleboarding, parasailing, and exploring Bermuda's Crystal Caves. Fall: In October, Taste of Bermuda and Art Month offer culinary and cultural experiences around the island. Indulge in a month-long festival featuring wine tastings, walking tours, a three-day chef competition, and an all-day food fest showcasing the best of the City of Hamilton's restaurants. Art enthusiasts can explore Bermuda's rich artistic heritage with events that include a Sip n Paint in an underground crystal cave and intimate conversations with local artists. Winter: Though temperatures get cooler in winter, there are still plenty of ways to explore the island of Bermuda. Save your appetite for restaurant week, a month-long event in January that includes discounted menus at restaurants and exclusive tasting menus with celebrated chefs from around the world. The Driving Horse and Pony Club of Bermuda is home to a weekly race evening throughout January and February, and golf lovers can try their hand at the sport at night at Turtle Hill Golf Club, where glow-in-the-dark balls are provided and light-up sticks mark the courses. Key Areas to Explore in Bermuda The Clocktower Mall, located in the heart of Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard, was once a naval warehouse but now functions as a shopping center in Sandy's Parish and features restaurants, local shops, and art galleries. Photograph by Greg Balfour Evans, Alamy Stock Photo A photo captures a modern scene in Bermuda's Hamilton Business District. Photograph by George Oze, Alamy Stock Photo For a truly immersive way to visit Bermuda, there are three distinct parts of the island to discover. Royal Naval Dockyard & The West End: As the island's maritime hub, West End features the historic Royal Naval Dockyard—now the main cruise ship port and destination for sightseeing, shopping, and dining. It's also home to the National Museum of Bermuda, which features over 500 years of the country's history via exhibitions, artifacts, and educational programs. Hamilton & Central Bermuda: Every trip to Bermuda should include a trip 'to town,' better known as the City of Hamilton. Front Street glows with pastel-colored buildings that house great restaurants, shopping, and art museums. On the Hamilton waterfront, a sculpture entitled 'We Arrive,' honors 72 slaves who were eventually freed after their American ship sailed off-course and landed in Bermuda in 1835. The sculpture is one of 13 sites across the island that encompass the African Diaspora Heritage Trail. St. George's & The East End: Located on the northeast end of the island, St. George's Parish is one of the oldest continuously inhabited English settlements in the New World and holds the distinction of being a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Winsome 18th-century cottages, cobblestone lanes, and preserved historic buildings offer a glimpse into the island's rich past. Here, you can visit St. Peter's Church, the oldest Anglican church in continuous use outside of the United Kingdom. Where to stay in Bermuda One of the island's newest hotels, The Loren at Pink Beach offers 45 suite-and villa-style resort rooms with ocean views on a blush-colored beach. Large groups will find ultimate relaxation in their private Residence, a six-bedroom retreat that includes a private beach. The property is also very close to two of the island's best golf courses, Tucker's Point Golf Course and the Mid Ocean Club. For five-star service perched on a prized hilltop, check into Rosewood Bermuda. After a multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation, the 92-room property received upgrades that include a lobby gin bar with a retractable roof and a trendy open-air beach club. With 250 acres for guests to explore, it may be hard to leave. Taste of Bermuda Make a reservation at the island's latest upscale dining experience, Intrepid, located inside Hamilton Princess & Beach Club in Bermuda. Prime-aged steaks and a raw seafood bar are just a few of the highlights on the menu. Enjoy a rum swizzle—the country's national drink–at the oldest and most famous pub in Bermuda, The Swizzle Inn. No trip is complete without a visit to Art Mel's Spicy Dicy for a generously sized sandwich that consists of a lightly fried filet of wahoo or snapper cushioned between house-made raisin bread. Fish chowder is another popular dish with a distinctive flavor imparted by the island's own Outerbridge's Original Sherry Peppers and black seal rum. Head to The Lobster Pot or Wahoo's Bistro and Patio to try a steaming bowl. Getting around Bermuda By bus: Bermuda's public buses are safe and operate year-round. 11 bus routes cover 14 zones that reach most major attractions. Travelers can purchase a Transportation Pass, offering unlimited rides for periods ranging from one to seven days. View the bus schedule here. By taxi: One of the most common ways to get around Bermuda is by taxi. Taxis are readily available outside the island's larger hotels, at the airport, and throughout the City of Hamilton, the Town of St. George, and the Royal Naval Dockyard. By electric microcar rental: Tap into one of the most fun and flexible ways to explore Bermuda by renting an electric car. Available to anyone 18 and older with a valid driver's license, electric cars provide a convenient and eco-friendly way to see the island at your own pace. By ferry: Explore Bermuda by sea on the ferry, accessible from a terminal on Front Street in Hamilton. Travelers can purchase a transportation pass that offers unlimited ferry rides for one to seven days — making it a convenient way to hop between key points across the island. View Ferries's schedule and routes here. Ride-share app: For a ride-sharing service option, download the Hitch app. Similar to Uber or Lyft, Hitch lets you enter your destination, uses GPS to determine your location, and provides fare estimates. Here's what you should know Hours: On Sundays, many shops, restaurants, and businesses are closed or operate at reduced hours. Public transportation, including buses and ferries, also runs on limited schedules. Check local listings for up-to-date hours and availability. Driving: Driving on the island is on the left, British-style, and the maximum speed limit is 15 mph in Hamilton and 21 mph on the rest of the island. How to sustainably visit Bermuda Support reef conservation by adopting a coral garden or baby corals with the Living Reefs Foundation, the first organization dedicated to preserving the island's coral reefs. On the southeast end of the island, take an eco-tour of Cooper's Island Nature Reserve, which features 12 acres of untouched wilderness. Keep your eye open for the seabirds and giant land crabs that live in Bermuda's diverse ecosystem. To get around the island, there are several low-emission transportation options, including electric buses, e-bike rentals, electric mopeds, scooters, and Microcars. Transportation: Visitors can explore the island via electric cars, which help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Hotels: The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club's sustainability efforts include the installation of refillable water stations across the property, customized PATH aluminum water bottles in each guestroom, and a new solar panel system as part of its recent renovations. Rosewood Bermuda is the island's only hotel to receive Green Globe Certification, recognizing its excellence in sustainable management. In partnership with the Living Reefs Foundation, Rosewood Bermuda offers guests the chance to support coral reef restoration through guided snorkeling or kayaking tours of the Coral Gardens. Guests can also adopt and plant coral, directly contributing to restoration efforts and research. Kristin Braswell is a travel journalist and founder of Crush Global Travel. She has penned pieces for Vogue, Bon Appetit, USA Today, NPR, Architectural Digest, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Rigid' Hong Kong office turned into artists' satire
At first glance, the office desk could belong to any Chinese executive -- an ashtray, mini-flags, a golden sculpture inscribed with the character for "integrity", and a picture of a local celebrity. Instead, it is part of a defiant art show challenging Hong Kong's stuffy power structures, held in an office tower at the heart of a finance district famous for its long hours and cut-throat competition. The group exhibition -- named "RE:URGENT" in mockery of corporate-speak -- is meant to "subvert the office space that we are working in every day", said curator Renee Lui, managing director of Young Soy Gallery. The exhibition mirrors a workspace, with four artists given a standard office cubicle to present their work in, and one displaying in the boss' office. "This is sort of a really rigid space that people (wouldn't normally) see as being able to contain creative ideas," Lui told AFP. The main office is occupied by artist Dominic Johnson-Hill, whose idiosyncratic desktop was inspired by his 28 years doing business in Beijing. "I went to a lot of bosses' offices," he said. "I really wanted to sort of copy a lot of that paraphernalia." His displayed pieces include a surreal digital wall clock, which tells time in an eerie, robotic voice. Next to its numbers is a picture of people looking down at their phones whilst queuing to enter a coffin store. Johnson-Hill came across such traditional shops in a Hong Kong neighbourhood and was inspired to create the piece, which he said poked fun at aimless work culture. "I thought how wonderful it would be to see people dressed in office attire queuing... (it's) a ridiculous idea that was quite playful," he said. In another cubicle, artist Riya Chandiramani sits role-playing as an "unpaid intern" who dreams of starting a feminist revolution. In a painting, she imagines herself as the Hindu goddess Kali, forced into a treacherous game of snakes and ladders set in the workplace. "The numbers also represent ages, and so there is also that aspect of women not being allowed to age," Chandiramani said. - 'Rebels still allowed' - The show is taking place during Hong Kong's "Art Month", headlined by art fairs which draw wealthy buyers from around the world. But gallery co-founder Shivang Jhunjhnuwala said he decided to ditch the fairs after two years because of high exhibition costs and "a lack of confidence in the art market". The show is pushing against the mainstream in its thematic matter too. In one corner, almost unnoticed, is a palm-sized paper cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping, trapped within multiple frames, by pseudonymous artist Louie Jaubere. "The people are not in control of what the state dictates," the artist said. "But it is not targeted at China; it generally represents government or state control." Hong Kong's freedom of expression and political rights have been whittled away since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 after large and sometimes violent protests the year before. At the show's opening, retired architect Serena Chan said she appreciated the show's sense of humour. "The other rebels are all gone," she said. "Rebels in art are probably still allowed, so let's have more of that." jl-hol/reb/sco
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Rigid' Hong Kong office turned into artists' satire
At first glance, the office desk could belong to any Chinese executive -- an ashtray, mini-flags, a golden sculpture inscribed with the character for "integrity", and a picture of a local celebrity. Instead, it is part of a defiant art show challenging Hong Kong's stuffy power structures, held in an office tower at the heart of a finance district famous for its long hours and cut-throat competition. The group exhibition -- named "RE:URGENT" in mockery of corporate-speak -- is meant to "subvert the office space that we are working in every day", said curator Renee Lui, managing director of Young Soy Gallery. The exhibition mirrors a workspace, with four artists given a standard office cubicle to present their work in, and one displaying in the boss' office. "This is sort of a really rigid space that people (wouldn't normally) see as being able to contain creative ideas," Lui told AFP. The main office is occupied by artist Dominic Johnson-Hill, whose idiosyncratic desktop was inspired by his 28 years doing business in Beijing. "I went to a lot of bosses' offices," he said. "I really wanted to sort of copy a lot of that paraphernalia." His displayed pieces include a surreal digital wall clock, which tells time in an eerie, robotic voice. Next to its numbers is a picture of people looking down at their phones whilst queuing to enter a coffin store. Johnson-Hill came across such traditional shops in a Hong Kong neighbourhood and was inspired to create the piece, which he said poked fun at aimless work culture. "I thought how wonderful it would be to see people dressed in office attire queuing... (it's) a ridiculous idea that was quite playful," he said. In another cubicle, artist Riya Chandiramani sits role-playing as an "unpaid intern" who dreams of starting a feminist revolution. In a painting, she imagines herself as the Hindu goddess Kali, forced into a treacherous game of snakes and ladders set in the workplace. "The numbers also represent ages, and so there is also that aspect of women not being allowed to age," Chandiramani said. - 'Rebels still allowed' - The show is taking place during Hong Kong's "Art Month", headlined by art fairs which draw wealthy buyers from around the world. But gallery co-founder Shivang Jhunjhnuwala said he decided to ditch the fairs after two years because of high exhibition costs and "a lack of confidence in the art market". The show is pushing against the mainstream in its thematic matter too. In one corner, almost unnoticed, is a palm-sized paper cutout of Chinese President Xi Jinping, trapped within multiple frames, by pseudonymous artist Louie Jaubere. "The people are not in control of what the state dictates," the artist said. "But it is not targeted at China; it generally represents government or state control." Hong Kong's freedom of expression and political rights have been whittled away since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in 2020 after large and sometimes violent protests the year before. At the show's opening, retired architect Serena Chan said she appreciated the show's sense of humour. "The other rebels are all gone," she said. "Rebels in art are probably still allowed, so let's have more of that." jl-hol/reb/sco
South China Morning Post
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for March 14-16
As the weather turns a corner, Hong Kong's bar scene is starting to emerge from its post-Lunar New Year hibernation. Taipei's Bar Without visits Hong Kong's The Opposites, while Mandarin Oriental celebrates art month with three art-inspired cocktails. Meanwhile, in our sister SAR, Wynn Palace overhauls Wing Lei Bar and brings Scottish mixologist Mark Lloyd to helm the concept – a perfect way to cap off any weekend trip to Macau. Thursday, March 13 Bar Without x Opposites The Opposites has partnered with Pedison Kao from Taipei's Bar Without. Photo: Handout What: The Opposites looks to ease you into the weekend courtesy of host Pedison Kao, brand director of Bar Without in Taipei, and partners Johnnie Walker, Don Julio, The Singleton and Tanqueray. Kao was the Taiwan bartending champion, placing in the top three globally in the Diageo World Class competition 2024. Bar Without offers contemporary, high-concept cocktails using ingredients such as kaoliang, tea, burnt miso, tobacco, shio koji, pineapple chips and more. Advertisement Where: The Opposites, LG/F, Hilltop Plaza, 49 Hollywood Road, Central When: 8pm-11pm Friday, March 14 Art Month sips at the Mandarin Oriental The Aubrey's Angry Girl, available throughout March to celebrate Hong Kong's art month. Photo: Handout What: With some of the year's biggest art fairs including Art Basel and Art Central just around the corner, the Mandarin Oriental is unveiling an array of dishes, menus and cocktails that dazzle in both style and flavour. The Aubrey is offering the Angry Girl Highball, which focuses on coffee-infused shochu, cacao and barley, and is based on the Angry Girl series of paintings by Yoshitomo Nara. The Chinnery's Self Portrait, available through March to celebrate Art Month. Photo: Handout Elsewhere in the MO, the Captain's Bar is serving The Comedian, which adds banana, marsala and coconut to the classic Negroni, inspired by the viral piece of the same name by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. At the Chinnery, the Self-Portrait pays tribute to – you guessed it – painter George Chinnery, in the form of a gin sour riff. Where: Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central When: Advertisement The Aubrey, noon-9.30pm
South China Morning Post
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Your Hong Kong weekend food guide for March 7-9
With Art Month , HK Restaurant Week and the Hong Kong Sevens, March promises to be a jam-packed month in Hong Kong. If by some stroke of luck you don't already have weekend dining plans, we've chosen three must-try menus that offer a welcome break from this month's hectic schedule. Friday, March 7 The Curry Brisket Bao from little Bao's new seasonal menu. Photo: Handout Fill your Friday with Hong Kong flavours. Little Bao's new seasonal menu features four innovative dishes that blend nostalgic tastes with modern twists. Crafted with respect for tradition and a spirit of reinvention, these new dishes include a curry brisket bao, stir-fry beef noodle-style fries, stuffed aburaage tofu with charred onion dashi and a creamy yuzu Yakult ice cream bao. Advertisement Opt for the seasonal set menu and enjoy all four in a selection of two baos, four share plates, two dessert baos, and two drinks. Where? Central location: 1-3 Shin Hing Street, Central; Causeway Bay location: H1, G/F, 9 Kingston Street, Causeway Bay Price: The signature set menu for two starts at HK$536 Saturday, March 8 Eggs flamenco (Chistorra sausage, tomatoes, peppers) is one of the star dishes at Qué Pasa's new brunch. Photo: Handout Head to Tai Hang this weekend for laid-back brunch vibes at Qué Pasa, featuring mix-and-match Spanish-inspired egg dishes like eggs flamenco, with smoky Chistorra sausage, tomatoes and bell peppers cooked in a sizzling iron-cast. Other favourites include steak and eggs with chimichurri sauce and crispy potatoes and eggs benedict with Jamón Teruel ham and a creamy Béarnaise sauce.
