Aesthetic tourism is redefining the way we travel. From design-led cafés to heritage hotels and quiet coastal towns, today’s travellers are choosing destinations that reflect their personal sensibilities. In this Field Notes piece, we explore why beauty, atmosphere, and authenticity have become the new markers of a memorable journey.

Grocery store tourism is transforming the way people travel in 2026. Instead of rushing between landmarks, travellers are wandering supermarket aisles, discovering local flavours, everyday rituals, and the cultural stories hidden on the shelves. From Japanese convenience stores to Spanish Mercadona and London’s Fortnum & Mason, the grocery store has become an unexpected window into how a place truly lives.

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled In Minor Keys, asks the art world to slow down. In a city overwhelmed by beauty and tourism, Koyo Kouoh’s final curatorial vision feels quietly radical.

Inside a 400-year-old samurai residence in Kanazawa, history reveals itself not through spectacle, but through stillness. Between Zen gardens, handwritten letters, and delicate motifs, the myth of the warrior begins to soften.