Style + Value

Undiscovered Old Quarter

CELEBRATING just over 10 years as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Casco Antiguo, the historic district of Panama City, Panama, is experiencing an awakening, with trendy new sidewalk restaurants and even a Panama Canal museum. Founded in 1519 by the conquistador Pedrarías Dávila, the Old Quarter (also known as Casco Viejo) is the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. A striking combination of French Provincial and Spanish colonial architecture, the district exudes romance, as do sunset strolls through the French Plaza, with views of Panama City’s skyscrapers to the east and ships entering the canal in the distance.

Info: www.visitpanama.com

 

 

Grape Expectations

In the United States, “wine country” doesn’t have to mean Southern California. Allow Winerybound.com to help you create a personalized vineyard tour, complete with restaurant and lodging recommendations, wherever there’s a U.S. winery. The site even searches for little extras such as carriage tours, cheese shops and “make-your-own-wine” classes. With the help of user reviews and videos, your vino vacation is as easy as point, click and sip.

—Caitlin Kenney

Straight Flush

Brush up on doing “business” internationally with Toilets of the World (Merrell Publishers, $16.95), in which Morna Gregory and Sian James have gathered shots of 130 unusual loos from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and South and Central America. So when the toilet in Tokyo features a shower button, or the public restroom in Brussels takes a coin that buys 15 minutes before the door automatically pops open, you won’t be surprised. Info: www.merrellpublishers.com.

 

Now and Zen {gotta gadget}

Color us impressed: The Zen Stone Plus with Built-in Speaker, $59.99, is available in stylish pink, black, blue and champagne hues. The pint-sized digital music player from Creative is small enough to fit in your pocket and powerful enough to hold nearly 500 tunes (plus FM radio, clock and stopwatch features). With 20 hours of battery life, crisp OLED screen and integrated speaker, it’ll keep the party going. Info: 800-998-1000 or www.creative.com.

—Scott Steinberg

 

Also featured this month in our Interactive Map

The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Oregon’s Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Shoes by Camper, Majorca, Spain
Queen Victoria, Southampton, UK
Loreto Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico
The Plunge, New York, NY
Rome: Then and Now in Overlay, Rome, Italy

For more great Style + Value insights launch our interactive map.