art deco travel

The 11 top art deco destinations around the world

Sep 7, 2020 • 10 min read

Historic Los Angeles City Hall © f11photo / Shutterstock

Well, 2020 was supposed to be full of nostalgic glam, harkening back to the Roaring '20s and optimistic Great Gatsby glitz. It hasn’t been a champagne coupe kind of year, but the now century-old art deco eye candy that’s scattered around the globe isn’t going anywhere.

This fresh, decorative style came out of France just before WWI and lasted well into the 1940s. Fresh, modern forms were augmented by imagery and colors inspired as never before by travel to such far-flung destinations as the South Pacific, Egypt, and China – places newly accessible to the colonial leisure class, who boarded new steam and rail lines to tour the world. And for those without the means to travel, influential artists like Matisse, Gauguin, and Cézanne brought their interpretation of global art forms back to European audiences.

Here are some of the destinations around the world with the most art deco swagger.

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Durban, South Africa

The prominence of art deco architecture in Durban , South Africa reveals more than meets the eye when you first scan its streamlined, stuccoed cityscapes. In the 1920s and '30s, colonialism was still in full swing, even as a rising sense of African nationalism swept the continent. During the art deco period, colonizers brought troves of African artifacts and religious objects back to European museums and galleries, and in turn white artists were deeply influenced by – and appropriated – indigenous African motifs. 

Eventually, those imperial powers brought a whitewashed version of those motifs back to Africa in the form of new, synthesized styles like art deco. This was just as cities like Durban (known by the Zulu as eThekweni) were expanding and eager to showcase their modern, European sensibilities – though the end of both art deco and colonialism were right around the corner following WWII, and South Africa was already laying the groundwork for apartheid. 

You can take in that complex history throughout the city at sites like the Surrey Mansions, the Cenotaph in Francis Farewell Square , the Colonial Mutual Building, Adam’s Booksellers, the Suncoast Casino, Lowry’s Corner, and the Surat Hindoo Association Building. Find self-guided walking tour maps and points of interest from the Durban Art Deco Society. Cap off your deep dive into the city’s architecture with a stay at the Albany Hotel , a centrally located 1938 beaut.

Casablanca, Morocco

It’s no surprise that Casablanca is resplendent with art deco examples, given that France established a colonial presence in Morocco in 1912, just as the style was taking off. What emerged during the French Protectorate era was Mauresque, a blend of traditional Moroccan designs and art deco, that you can still see at stops such as the Cinema Rialto , Palais de Justice , The Maret Building, the Villa des Arts , and the 1918 La Poste (the main post office). Don’t forget to stroll Rue Idriss Lhrizi for even more eye candy, before posting up at the famous Hotel Transatlantique, built in 1922, or the Hotel & Spa Le Doge , originally built in the 1930s as a private townhouse. 

Napier, New Zealand

New Zealand ’s deadliest natural disaster – the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake – leveled nearly the whole town of Napier , and ensuing fires burned the rest. But the bustling seaport rebuilt such a complete art deco Main Street that it has garnered comparisons to other seaside cityscapes as Miami Beach and Santa Barbara , and was nominated for Unseco World Heritage Site status in 2007. 

Don’t miss such sites as the Daily Telegraph headquarters, the National Tobacco Company Building , and the Tom Parker fountain –  though the whole downtown is a dream. For some real Gatsby charm, take a combined wine and architecture tour , or zip out into New Zealand’s oldest wine region in a vintage auto . 

At the end of your day, stay at the Art Deco Masonic Hotel . This streamlined beauty is on the site of the original hotel, built in the 1860s and lost to the earthquake. The version you see today was designed by Wellington architect W. J. Prowse, and stands as a testament to Napier’s resilience.

Los Angeles, California 

Angelinos and visitors alike know that Los Angeles contains multitudes, but for all the city’s sprawling evolutions (and home-grown architectural staples like the dingbat ) it’s never shaken its association with the glitz of Old Hollywood. Now that DTLA is having a renaissance, some of LA’s best-beloved 1920s haunts are newly fashionable again such as the Golden Gopher , which is surrounded by period beauties including the Garfield Building and the Freehand Los Angeles .   

As long as you’re in the DLTA neighborhood, don’t miss The CalEdison building (the lobby is open the public), The Oviatt Building, or the Los Angeles Central Public Library – and certainly not City Hall . Further afield, you can take a blast to the past by dining at El Cholo , a 1920s joint with a bright neon sign, or the Tam O’Shanter , where Walt Disney himself liked to tip back Scotch. In Hollywood, don’t miss the the friendly Frolic Room , which got its start as a speakeasy and became a regular old dive in the mid-1930s when the chic Deco Pantages Theater opened next door.

There’s no shortage of period hotels to immerse yourself in, but some of the best include The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, Hotel Normandie in Wilshire, and Sunset Tower in West Hollywood.

Kaunas, Lithuania

Between WWI and WWII, Kaunas was able to take a deep breath, and a turn as Lithuania 's capital. The result was a slew of construction by builders who hoped to convey the country's modernity with a little art deco charm. Like many other cities that had a yearning for deco last century, one of Kaunas' best examples is its Central Post Office, which along with banks, government headquarters, such as the Kaunas Municipality building, and other institutions were eager to set a tone for a new chapter of Lithuanian history and national character. Plenty of cultural attractions, theaters and cinemas got in on the fun, too, as well as the Christ's Resurrection Basilica , which broke ground in 1934. 

Shanghai, China

Thanks to an influx of Europeans who had been metabolizing Asian design since the art nouveau era and the return of Chinese students who brought art deco back with them, 1920s Shanghai became a canvas for a newly international generation of architects eager to explore new styles.

A hundred years later, the waterfront Bund district and the old French Concession still give travelers a glimpse into this colonial era, and the development of the Chinese Deco style that was synonymous with Shanghai. These neighborhoods are perfect for a stroll between period sites like the Bank of China Building, the Bank of Communications Building , the Cathay Theatre , and the Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum .

You might opt to stay at the Peace Hotel, Okura Garden Hotel , the Peninsula Shanghai , the Metropolo Classiq , the Langham Yangtze Boutique Hotel or Les Suites Orient – all classics with beautiful deco architecture updated with the latest amenities.

Mumbai, India

In his 1999 novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet , Salman Rushdie’s protagonist Rai says of Mumbai, “...as for the glittering art deco sweep of Marine Dr , well, that was something not even Rome could boast. I actually grew up believing art deco to be the ‘Bombay style,’ a local invention, its name derived, in all probability, from the imperative of the verb ‘to see’. Art dekho.”

Art deco was brought to India by British colonizers. A 1930s building boom in Mumbai coincided with the style’s popularity, and gave a chance for Indian architects to make art deco all their own . The sheer concentration of art deco buildings earned the Oval Maiden a spot on the Unesco  World Heritage list, and continues to wow local pedestrians and visitors on Mumbai architectural tours alike. From movie theaters like the Liberty Cinema to the undulating Jehangir Art Gallery to the streamlined stacks of art deco apartment buildings, Mumbai is a feast for the senses, and a trip back in time.

Kick back at the end of the day at the modest, historical Sea Green South Hotel – a comfortable spot big on vintage charm that won’t break the bank.

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo was once one of the premier cities in the US, with a big boom from the turn of the century to the middle of the next. Head downtown to the the Court Street corridor to see some of the best examples of its art deco flavor, from the magnificently detailed Buffalo City Hall and Central Terminal (which is currently being redeveloped into an event space) to the Industrial Bank Building and Electric Tower Building.

Hotel Niagara is slated to reopen in 2021, bringing this 1924 beauty back into play for the first time since 2007. In the meantime, soak up the jazz era vibes in the lobby of the Hotel @ the Lafayette , a handsome property that blends a range of influences from the Edwardian to the deco to the contemporary.

St Petersburg, Florida

Miami gets the lion’s share of accolades for its art deco edifices , but it doesn’t have the monopoly on mid-war glitz. A little further north, St Petersburg , Florida has its own 1920s treasures, from the Salvador Dali Museum to the Euro-inspired neighborhoods and arcades developed by deco disciple Perry Snell. 

Much of the city blends the Mediterranean style with art deco influences into a Florida deco genre all its own, from the Municipal Utilities Building and St. Petersburg City Hall to Christ United Methodist Church to the Randolph Hotel, and even the odd Family Dollar store . On the opposite side of the peninsula from downtown St Pete, grab brunch at Stella ’s and stroll the charming neighborhood – at the end of Beach Boulevard is the Gulfport Casino Ballroom, a rounded pastel dream that dates back to the swinging ‘30s jazz age.

Perhaps the crown jewel of St. Pete's deco gems is the Don CeSar hotel , better known to locals as the Pink Palace. A true jazz age magnet, F. Scott Fitzgerald himself stayed here, as did Al Capone and President FDR. The Pink Palace even appeared in Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984). 

If you’d like to stay somewhere a little more low-key, however, it’s hard to beat the Avalon , a streamlined beauty close to Beach Drive and attractions like the Dali Museum. The outside is pure art deco, but inside belays St Pete’s hip, artsy side with modish, Instagram-ready style.

Montevideo, Uruguay 

Montevideo doesn't have the high profile of other South American capitals, but it's rich in art deco architecture thanks to an economic boom and urban expansion at the time. Check out the Rinaldi building near the  Plaza Independencia  and the Palacio Díaz skyscraper near City Hall . Stop by the Montevideo Center for Photography  and the Don Hotel , whilst looking out for dozens of period apartment buildings. It's interesting to see Uruguay's unique, often monochrome interpretation of art deco forms. Stay at the New Arapey Hotel , which carries the style inside and out.

Detroit, Michigan

Like Buffalo, Detroit was booming during the deco years as the automobile industry took off and immigrants flocked to the city’s factories for work. New buildings went up all the time in the latest style, including jazz clubs such as  Cliff Bell's , the iconic Fisher Building , the glittering Fox Theater, the Penobscot Building and skyscrapers such as the Guardian Building. There’s so much to see in Detroit it’s well worth embarking on a walking tour . You can put your feet up afterwards at The Siren Hotel, built in 1926 and originally known as the Wurlitzer Building. 

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Art Deco Society of New York members are knowledgable, interested travelers, eager to explore interwar wonders close by and around the world. ADSNY is happy to assist our members in visiting and learning how interwar architecture and design is adapted in different cities.

Destination Deco   Architecture and Design Travel Programs 

In 2017 ADSNY formally launched its exclusive boutique travel program, Destination Deco. Immersive trips to explore Art Deco have included visits to Tel Aviv, Havana, Miami, Chicago, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Highlights of these programs include included private exhibition tours; architectural walking, bus, and boat tours; visits to private homes and collections; and culture immersions into the unique regional style, design, culture, music, and the arts of the 1920s and 30s. Click here to see upcoming travel programs – or – Click here to see past travel programs

World Congress on Art Deco

Every two years a city, rich with interwar design, hosts the World Congress on Art Deco. Started in Miami in 1991, these programs bring together experts and aficionados from around the world for a week of in-depth seminars, tours, and social events. Congresses have since taken place in Perth, Australia; Brighton and London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles, USA; Napier, New Zealand; Tulsa, USA; Cape Town, South Africa; New York, USA; Melbourne, Australia; Montreal, Canada; Rio de Janiero, Brazil; Havana, Cuba; Shanghai, China; Cleveland, USA; and most recently in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 2023 Congress was in Miami and the 2025 Congress will be in Paris to celebrate the centennial of Art Deco. Click here to see upcoming Congress information.

Customized Art Deco Tours

ADSNY experts will develop a personal Art Deco tour just for you. Guardian level members, and above, can take advantage of ADSNY’s expertise to develop Art Deco individual or small group tours for travel within the United States or other Deco cities around the world. Email [email protected] for more information. 

Upcoming In-Person Travel Programs

March 22 - 24, 2024 Join the Art Deco Society of New York (ADSNY) and our hosts, Jim Parsons and David Bush––architectural historians and authors of Hill Country Deco; DFW Deco; Fair Park Deco: Art and Architecture of the Texas Centennial; and more––for a private three day VIP tour that will offer a dazzling and informative look at the extraordinary architecture and design of the 1920s and 1930s in the Texas Hill Country cities of San Antonio and Austin. Learn More

Web-based Travel Programs

While we were unable to safely offer in-person travel opportunities, we were excited to continue our Destination Deco travel programs digitally! Below, you can find complete recordings of our past online events that explore some of the world’s greatest Deco cities Each Deco On Demand video gives you the opportunity to have the same experience as those who participated in the live event. You will see and hear the speaker presenting the original visuals. These videos allow you to stream all of the original content of ADSNY’s programs at a time that best fits your schedule. While watching, you will see the entire presentation directly on your computer screen, tablet, or mobile device.

In this recorded event, architectural historian and head of the Paris Art Deco Society, Pascal Yves, hosts an engaging illustrated talk that surveys French Art Deco innovations during the 1920s and 30s, focusing on the importance of French World’s Fairs and Ocean Liners.  Learn More

Join ADSNY on this exciting recorded Video Event that features a virtual visit to Manila to see its remarkably rich, though largely unknown, collection of Deco architecture and design, including theaters, schools, sport facilities, funerary mausoleums, and so much more! Learn More

In this recorded Video Event, Atul Kumar introduces us to how Mumbai, developed its Art Deco style in the early 1930s, as India was marching towards becoming an independent nation. He gives us a delightfully engaging background on the history of Mumbai and leads us on a virtual tour of beautiful Art Deco buildings. Learn More

In this visually delightful Deco On Demand video event, internationally renowned author and speaker on Art Deco, Peter Sheridan, explores how the global influence of the Art Deco design aesthetic became evident in Sydney’s architecture as well as in many other areas of daily life. Learn More

In this interesting and engaging Video Event, David Bush and Jim Parsons discuss some of the state’s most stunning modernistic designs and how architects regionalized national and international design movements deep in the heart of Texas. Learn More

See Chicago's soaring Art Deco skyscrapers that boast cliff-like setbacks and machine-age imagery that epitomize the glamour, exuberance, and optimism of the era, as well as how the style also extends to residences, churches, theaters, and small commercial buildings. Learn More

60 Inspiring Designs in the Style of Art Deco Travel Posters

• Articles & Inspiration
• 10 December 2018

12 Comments

Originally used to promote cabaret and tourist resorts by train, steamship and airline companies, travel posters from the 1920s have become iconic designs. The artwork depicted luxurious travel with strong and powerful imagery, which was influenced by the geometric shapes and bold colours of the Art Deco movement at the time. The style still inspires graphic artists today, who use the visual traits made popular by the originals to create their own travel posters and tribute art. In today’s inspiration showcase I present a range of poster designs, both old and new, all based on the vintage 1920s Art Deco style.

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HMAS Parramatta by Mads Berg

Hess Park by Mads Berg

Bornholm 13 by Mads Berg

Grand Prix Monaco by Mads Berg

Ceylon Galle by Mads Berg

Sailing by Mads Berg

Chocolate Box Artworks by Mads Berg

Areitxpress Poster by Mads Berg

New York by Dave Thompson

The Flatiron Building by Dave Thompson

Brighton by Dave Thompson

The West Pier by Dave Thompson

London by Justin Pedler

Sydney by Justin Pedler

Brisbane by Justin Pedler

Transatlantic Line by Henry Rivers

Visit Rio by Henry Rivers

Visit Canada by Henry Rivers

Seville Poster by IdeaStorm

Coki Beach Poster by IdeaStorm

Modern London Poster by IdeaStorm

Route 66 by Martin Wickstrom

Cote d’Azur by Martin Wickstrom

Skiing Colorado by Martin Wickstrom

Explore Italy by Martin Wickstrom

Art Deco Glamour by Stephen Fuller

Mediterranee Poster by Stephen Fuller

Art Deco Weekend Posters by Stephen Fuller

Rome by Red Gate Arts

Fly Me To The Moon by Red Gate Arts

Dance by Red Gate Arts

Love Me, Love My Dog by Red Gate Arts

Life Is A Catwalk by Red Gate Arts

1958 Monaco Grand Prix by Charles Avalon

Nice Cote D’Azur by Charles Avalon

Chamonix Ski Train by Charles Avalon

Switzerland Pure Swiss Air by Charles Avalon

Cote D’Azur Pullman Express by Charles Avalon

Alfa Romeo Le Mans by Bill Philpot

Bugatti Monaco by Bill Philpot

Bentley Le Mans by Bill Philpot

Cooper 1961 Nurburgring by Bill Philpot

Goodwood Festival of Speed by Dave Thompson

Ski In Les Trois Vallees by Dave Thompson

London by Dave Thompson

Miami by Dave Thompson

Natural Hot Springs by Csaba Gyulai

Glory Days by Mara Drozdova

Miami Beach by Sergey Serebrennikov

Art Deco Wedding Poster by Stephanie Viau

Bonavista by Jessica Lambe

Metropol Kurier by Riccardo Guasco

Magazine Italiana by Riccardo Guasco

Maratona dles Dolomites by Riccardo Guasco

Longines Masters by Riccardo Guasco

Clos Du Bois by Steve Forney

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This work is so inspiring. Great research. Maybe you will consider a tutorial with recreation of one of artwork.

Great inspirational set here, but having Mads Berg near the top of the list blows away a lot of the others because he is in a league of his own. Thanks for keeping the standard so high here at Spoon Graphics!

Love Art Deco. Thanks for this well written and researched article. Good work.

Good ! Thank you, Chris !

Beautiful inspiration! Love these! Thank you for putting this together.

Chris…You never fail to post the most inspiring content.

It’s really inspiring art Thanks to sharing with us great collection

I didn’t use to think that much of Art Deco, but it has grown on me in recent years. It can make a nice style for logos and murals. Maybe I need a new logo haha

Chris, it`s my favourite collection of posters now! You are superior. Keep going!

this is one cool and amazing collections of designs i am getting design ideas from here this is real cool.

Superb! Thanks for sharing

Nice work from several artists here. Love this stuff!

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10 top art deco u.s. cities to visit in 2017.

Discover popular and lesser-known landmarks across the country paying homage to the iconic style.

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Get your deco fix in these vibrant cities across America.

New York City

Washington, District of Columbia

Asheville, North Carolina

Miami Beach, Florida

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Los Angeles

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Meet The Artists Behind Your Favourite Vintage Travel Posters

In my late teens, I bought myself a calendar that was illustrated with vintage travel posters. I was particularly smitten with one for Cuba produced in 1949 by the Cuban Tourist Commission. From that moment I formed a slight obsession with the beautiful artwork created to sell travel in the early days of advertising.

Since becoming a graphic designer I’ve found myself asking “who are the artists behind these fabulous vintage travel poster designs? What was their process? Did they travel to all the places they illustrated?” So, I did a little research into these advertising industry pioneers and this is what I found.

Table of contents

A brief history of the travel poster, joseph binder, donald brun, fred ludekens, abram games, frank newbould, david klein, maurice laban, jan lewitt & george him, harry rogers, james northfield, bernard villemot, edmond maurus, albert solon, frank soltesz, vincent guerra, albert victor eugène brenet, joseph feher, vittorio grassi, otto nielsen, lucien boucher, robert falcucci, georges dorival, roger broders, harry stevens, daphne padden, percy padden, tom eckersley, reginald montague lander.

Modern posters were born in the mid-nineteenth century when a few planets aligned. The first was the development of printing technology, which allowed for mass production of colour images (“mass” being a relative term to today’s standards). The second was countries such as France lifting government censorship of public places. Lastly, mass-produced consumer goods were being advertised in populated urban environments.

By the late nineteenth century, posters had hit their stride in Europe with many fine artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec taking up poster commissions. As the new century dawned, posters grew in popularity and their design became an increasingly respected art form.

Early twentieth-century travel posters were often commissioned by rail lines, and later airlines, to advertise their mode of transport using images of exotic destinations. Poster artwork varied in style as fashions came and went: art nouveau, art deco and modernism were key styles of the travel poster era. Finally, poster art gave way to photography in the 1960s, as printing technology underwent another evolution.

The art of vintage posters has experienced a renaissance in the last two decades, as new generations rediscover the illustrations and paintings of the past. Original travel posters are now highly collectible items. In 2014, Christie’s sold Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge lithograph  for £314,500, its highest-grossing travel poster in history. I grew up with this image printed on a set of coasters that my mum purchased while travelling in France. For those who aren’t millionaires yet, prints of vintage posters can also be purchased at much more reasonable prices.

The artists behind the posters

Allow me to introduce to you the mysterious talents behind the vintage travel posters you love. This is by no means a definitive list and there are many artists unaccounted for – these are artists behind some of the most recognisable and collectible travel artworks. Sadly, there is very little information available about some of them.

Joseph Binder (1898–1972) trained in lithography and studied at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts before establishing his own graphic design studio, Vienna Graphics, specialising in advertising and poster design. After visiting the US as a guest lecturer at the Chicago Art Institute and Minneapolis School of Art, he immigrated to New York in 1936. He created modernist masterpieces for American Railroads, American Airlines, and United Airlines such as these.

Swiss illustrator Donald Brun (1909-1999) was a student of one of Switzerland’s first professional calligraphic artists. He apprenticed as a publicity illustrator and took art classes in Basel and Berlin before becoming a freelance artist. Brun created posters for Swissair among others. Though he never stuck to one particular style, my personal favourites are the “picture-in-picture” posters he designed, like those below.

Californian illustrator Stan Galli (1912-2009) may have created your favourite 1950’s poster for United Airlines. Galli studied at the California Art Institute (now the San Francisco Art Institute) before becoming an advertising artist. He worked in various areas from designing postage stamps to Navy instructional manuals over the course of his long career. His posters for United Airlines are among the most collected vintage travel posters today.

Fred Ludekens (1900-1982), was an American artist and illustrator. The Californian had no formal training and worked initially as a billboard painter. Ludekens produced work for magazines and other media. He worked alongside the aforementioned Stan Galli at one time, painting wildlife images for Weyerhauser Timber advertisements. Ludekens created a series of posters for American and United Airlines in the 1950s.

British born designer Abram Games was one of the last of the great poster designers, as the art was lost to offset printing and photography. His early work was often for London Transport and Shell.  After a stint in the British War Office during World War II, Games returned to posters for British Airways, Aer Lingus and EL AL.

British artist Frank Newbould (1887-1951) attended the Bradford College of Art and Camberwell School of Art. He designed many posters for railways and shipping companies, before WWII at which time he became assistant to Abram Games (above) at the war office. Frank Newbould along with the artists, Tom Purvis (below), Austin Cooper, Fred Taylor, Frank Mason were the “Big 5” that for a time were exclusively contracted to design travel posters for LNER (London and Northeastern Railway).

British artist Tom Purvis (1888-1959), attended the Camberwell School of Art. He worked in advertising agency Mather and Crowther before branching out on his own as a freelancer. Between 1923 and 1945 he created over 100 posters for London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), depicting the rail lines destinations in bold, flat colour with little detail. Though Purvis moved away from this style later, reintroducing some detail into his imagery, that vibrant, minimalist style is one of my absolute favourites.

David Klein (1918-2005) created boldly coloured modernist posters. The Texas native studied at the Art Center School (also known as the Art Center College of Design) in Los Angeles. He created illustrations for the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII, then went to live and work in New York City. He created most of his travel-related work between the mid-1950s and ’60s. Klein’s commercial art includes these memorable commissions for TWA.

British freelance illustrator Maurice Laban (1912-1970) created posters during the 1940s through to their dying moments in the 1960s. His vibrant posters for BOAC/Qantas were printed by silkscreen technique and made use of fluorescent opaque inks.

The graphic design duo of Jan Lewitt (1907-1991) and George Him (1900-192) came out of the early ’30s in Warsaw. They relocated to London and worked together through to 1955.

Harry Rogers (1929-2012) was an Australian designer who created several series of Qantas posters from the 1950s through 1970s, utilizing techniques such as paper cutting, collage and watercolour to define each campaign.

Another Australian, James Northfield (1887-1973), was educated in Melbourne. As a commercial artist, Northfield created posters for the Australian National Travel Association to promote Australian destinations to domestic and overseas audiences.

French graphic designer Bernard Villemot (1911-1989) is associated with his work for Air France, Bally, Perrier and Orangina. Villemot initially studied with master art deco poster artist Paul Colin.  His work has been in high demand since his death in 1989.

Edmond Maurus designed art deco posters for French airlines Air Union and Air France between 1925 and 1955. The French artist studied at the Germain Pilon School.

Albert Solon (1897-1973) was also known for his art deco posters. The self-taught artist who became a cartoonist, created posters for airlines during the 1920s and ’30s including Farman, SABENA, Air France, Luft Hansa, Imperial Airways, KLM and l’Aéropostale.

American artist Frank Soltesz (1912-1986) studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and went into newspapers and advertising. The president of TWA in 1945, Jack Frye, offered Soltesz a job creating magazine advertisements which were seen in publications such as Life, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Fortune and Time.

French painter Vincent Guerra is largely a mystery, but his work for Air France and Aerovias Guest after WWII are notable contributions to poster design.

Albert Victor Eugène Brenet (1903-2005), who was born in France and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He travelled for magazine LÍllustration and was appointed official artist for the three French military branches during WWII. Post-war he went into commercial illustration including advertising posters for airlines.

Joseph Feher (1908-1987), a Hungarian born and trained artist, studied at the Academy Bella Arte in Florence, Italy and Bauhaus, Germany. He also obtained a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1920s. From there, his work in commercial art and portraiture began. Feher taught in Chicago and at the Academy of Arts in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was also flown around the continental United States by United Airlines, to paint watercolours of cities for ads and calendars until about 1949.

Italian painter Vittorio Grassi (1878-1958) started out at the Bank of Italy, testing typographic techniques as a means of counterfeit prevention, while he practised his landscape painting. He later moved into commercial work, designing stamps and posters for the Italian Government Tourist Board and the Italian Railroad System among other public agencies.

Otto Nielsen is the Danish painter who designed travel posters for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) between 1954 and 1976 in his unique oil painting style.

Parisian born artist Jean Even (1910-1986) studied at the Ecole Boulle and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Even favoured gouache for its matt colours, speedy drying and compatibility with light paper, all qualities excellent for travel.

Another Air France favourite is Lucien Boucher (1889-1971), whose design career began at the Ceramique de Sevres. He debuted a the Salon d’Automne in 1921 before becoming a member two years later. He exhibited at the Salon de L’Araignée in 1924 through 190. Boucher produced lithographs, wood engravings and watercolour drawings. In 1935 he began working for Air France and gained a reputation for his planispheres – a flat representation of the earth.

Robert Falcucci (1900-1989), was a French illustrator and painter who studied at the Ecole Normale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. Falcucci spent time directing magazine advertisements for Renault; illustrated a cover of L-Illustration magazine; and worked with couturier Paul Poiret. Arguably, his best-known work his program artwork for the Monte Carlo Rally, and posters for rail line Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean (PLM).

Georges “Géo” Dorival (1879-1968) was a French poster artist who also specialised in glass plates and shadow puppet theatre. He studied at the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. His best-known travel work includes posters for destinations such as Venice, Cote d’Azur, Mont Blanc, Heyeres and Brittany, as well as the railroads such as the Chemins de Fer de l’Etat.

Parisian born, Roger Broders, was best known for his travel posters of fashionable French resorts of the 1920s and ’30s. Broders created simplified imagery with bold, flat fields of colour and minimal lettering in contemporary typefaces of their time. The artist was commissioned by The Paris Lyon Mediteranée Company (PLM), who sponsored his travel so that he could visit the destinations he was to illustrate. He was said to have been a cigar aficionado, foodie and lover of cafe culture – aside from the cigars, he sounds like my kind of man!

Kurt Wirth (1917-1996) was a Swiss graphic designer and illustrator. He started his own studio in 1937 and was a co-founder of the Swiss Graphic Designers Association. Wirth is known for creating modernist posters for Swissair and Swiss Federal Railways. He also taught at the School of Art of Bern.

Born in Manchester, England in 1919, Harry Stevens started his design career with no formal art training. He designed posters for London Transport from 1960-1978 and various other high-profile clients. He won the Council of Industrial Design Poster Award in 1963 and became a fellow of the Society of Industrial Artists.

Another British artist who created popular mid-century travel posters was Daphne Padden (1927-2009). The daughter of Percy Padden, a travel poster artist of the 1920s and 30s, Daphne worked as a commercial designer before moving into fine art later in her career. She studied at Epsom & Ewell School of Art and earned a National Diploma in Design for painting. Daphne’s freelance clients included the British Transport Commission, P&O Orient Lines and British European Airways.

Now seems a good time to mention more of Daphne’s dad, Percy (1885-1965) . There doesn’t seem to be much information about Mr Padden. What we do know is that he studied at the Royal College of Art and mostly worked for the post office, producing posters advertising cruises on mail boats. 

Lancashire-born in 1914, Tom Eckersley, was commissioned by Transport for London, National Savings Bank, Guinness and Gillette among other big names. He studied at the Salford School of Art, where he met student Eric Lombers. Graduating in 1934, Eckersley began a freelance graphic design career in London, in partnership with Lombers. They soon won commissions by London Transport and within a few years were both lecturing at the Westminster School of Art.

Eckersley’s career was interrupted by WWII when he enlisted in the R.A.F. and worked as a cartographer. He also produced “war effort” posters during this time. After the war, he continued to teach and take commissions for poster designs. Eckersley became a fellow of the Society of Typographic Designers and Society of Artists and Designers, along with an honorary fellow of Manchester College of Art & Design and the Royal Colleg of Art.

Born in London in 1913, Lander received his art education at Hammersmith School of Art. He became the chief designer and studio manager at Ralph Mott Studio during the 1930s. Lander produced posters for GWR, LNER, British Railways and the Post Office. He worked in gouache and watercolour.

Image via Original Railway Posters

Image via invaluable.com

Where to buy posters and prints

Galerie 123 , Switzerland

Affiche Passion , France

The Ross Art Group , USA (New York)

The Vintage Poster , USA (California)

International Poster Gallery , USA (Boston)

Antikbar , UK

All Posters

Vintagraph, USA

Printism , Australia

What is your favourite vintage travel poster? Drop a comment below and let me know.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting acquainted with the artists that inspired travellers of yesteryear and found a little duende of your own. If so, you might also enjoy this artful history of travel postcards .

Peace, love & inspiring travel,

Art Moderne in Cleveland – Coast Guard Station #219

The unique art of lotus weaving in myanmar.

My favourite is my 1950 karnten Austria by an artist called Ludwig depicting a view of a beautiful lake from a hotel . It has such vibrant colours and gives you a sense that you are actually there. For a poster toned that takes great skill . But now I’m thinking about my other posters and it’s like having children do you have a favourite hahaha. Thanks for your time to write about the artists and posters. I still have a few I am trying to find out about.

Hi David, Your Karnten poster sounds wonderful. It can be challenging to find info about the poster artists. It’s a shame considering how talented they were! I am always updating my posts so if you have an artist you’d like me to look into, let me know. I can’t promise I’ll turn up anything you haven’t already, but I would be willing to have a go.

Thanks for stopping by Duende, Zoë (aka Madam ZoZo)

Hi there. Love the site. I wondered if you could help me? I love a poster for Continenral Airways advertising Los Angeles which has a glamorous couple on the beach- the lady has golden hair in the style of a Hollywood star and there is a plane flying overhead.. It looks late ’50s to me. Would you know who the artist would be? My email address is xxx. Thanks Paul Moody

That is a tricky one. I haven’t been able to get much info at all on that particular poster. I agree it looks like the late ’50s given the style and fashion depicted. Continental used that particular logo between 1937-1960 so it is unlikely to be later. I found an aircraft buff who proposed the plane pictured was a DC-7B which also fits with the 1950s timeframe. Many of the well-known artists of that period seem to have been tied up with other airlines at the time and probably had exclusivity agreements. I couldn’t confirm anything further. Should I happen across more details, I’ll let you know.

Zoe aka Madam ZoZo

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Discovering Mumbai’s Art Deco Treasures

The city has the world’s second-largest collection of the buildings, second only to Miami. But even as they gain attention, they are threatened.

By Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar

Every evening, crowds swarm Marine Drive, the iconic waterfront on the southern tip of Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

Few of the families and tourists who are out taking in the air stop to look back at the low-rise apartment blocks that line the avenue — a cityscape Salman Rushdie described in the novel “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” as “a glittering Art Deco sweep … not even Rome could boast.”

That disregard may be set to change.

The Art Deco buildings on Marine Drive, together with those on the blocks along the nearby park Oval Maidan, were recognized last year by Unesco as part of a World Heritage site, a distinction that is expected to help preserve and promote the neighborhood. The tag was the result of a 10-year campaign led by heritage activists and local resident groups, one that reflects a growing celebration of Mumbai’s Art Deco architecture — even as it is vanishing under the wrecking ball.

“Everyone always talked about CST,” said Atul Kumar, referring to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus , the city’s other Unesco site, a magnificent and much-Instagrammed Victorian Gothic railway station. “But we also had one of the richest collections of Deco in the world.”

Mr. Kumar, a resident of Marine Drive, set up the nonprofit Art Deco Mumbai in 2016 to raise awareness of these buildings on social media, as well as to document them in an online repository. His team has listed more than 375 buildings, including residences, palaces, hotels and cinemas, all built between 1930 and 1950. They estimate the final count — including not just wealthy south Mumbai but the bazaars of Mohammed Ali Road and middle-class neighborhoods like Shivaji Park, Matunga and Bandra — will be around 600 buildings.

That means Mumbai has the world’s second-largest collection of Art Deco structures, after Miami.

MOHAMMED ALI RD.

Chhatrapati Shivaji

Soona Mahal

Eros Cinema

Shiv Shanti Bhavan

University of Mumbai

OVAL MAIDAN

Regal Cinema

The term Art Deco, or art decoratifs, gained traction in the 1960s as a way to describe a visual style of architecture, design and fashion that emerged in 1920s France. The style’s streamlined forms and geometric motifs were inspired by new technologies — ocean liners, airplanes, automobiles, movies — and by everything from Cubism to Egyptian imagery.

Mumbai’s Art Deco structures are not as grand as Jazz Age behemoths like New York’s Chrysler Building. Instead, they resemble Miami’s laid-back “tropical deco.” As Unesco recognized, the value of Mumbai’s Deco does not lie in the drama of a single structure but in the spirit of the ensemble. This fabric represents the making of modern Bombay, as it was then known.

A confluence of cultural, economic and technological changes transformed the city in the 1930s and ’40s. An economic boom attracted thousands of Indians, creating a professional class. The authorities developed a reclamation plan to create new land to house them, including Marine Drive, and also created suburbs to the north of the city. Indian architects, many returning from London, along with European designers, built the first apartments on this land for merchants, industrialists and Indian princes traveling to Europe on the luxury liners of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company .

These architects broke with the British Raj’s ornate Victorian Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles for the latest international trend — described by a leading British architect as “the nudist movement in our profession” — while adapting it to the local environment. The choice could be seen as a form of resistance, said Mustansir Dalvi, professor at the Sir J. J. School of Art and Architecture , and as a backdrop of the freedom movement.

Movie houses, many built by American movie companies like MGM, glamorized the new aesthetic. A new technology, reinforced cement concrete, made all this construction quick and cheap. The apartments were snapped up by a rising urban elite “who aspired to be modern and were willing to live next to those who were not like themselves,” said Mr. Dalvi. “They sat next to each other in offices, on commutes, in cinema halls.”

He adds: “For Bombay , what Art Deco represents is cosmopolitanism.”

In a city increasingly dominated by gated communities and hodgepodge skylines, the Deco neighborhoods recall an age of openness and urban coherence. Strict bylaws ensured public spaces and amenities. Buildings had low compound walls. “The wonderful thing about the Art Deco era is that it gave us neighborhoods, not just single pieces,” Mr. Dalvi said.

From Mumbai, Art Deco spread to other cities. The style’s afterlife in India lasted into the late 1940s and early ’50s, and paved the way for modernism after independence in 1947. For decades, however, the contribution of the Art Deco era was overlooked. Architects worshiped high modernists like Louis Kahn and Le Corbusier while conservationists focused on ancient and colonial monuments.

For years, residents like Nayana Kathpalia, a member of the Oval Trust that supported the heritage campaign, were unaware of the historical or aesthetic value of their buildings. “We just thought it was a good place to live in and look at,” Ms. Kathpalia said.

The recent interest comes just as this layer of the city is vanishing. The Unesco tag now protects Marine Drive and Oval Maidan, but everywhere else old buildings are falling daily — and with them many memories.

“What is special about Mumbai’s architecture, and about Art Deco in particular, is that unlike Delhi it is not all monuments or public buildings,” Mr. Kumar said. “It is homes and schools and cinemas, spaces we have lived in, grown up with and can relate to.”

If you want to see some of Mumbai’s best Art Deco buildings firsthand, here are four good places to start.

1. Regal and Eros Cinemas

Mumbai’s Art Deco cinemas were often funded or owned by American film companies. Regal is the city’s oldest, opening in 1933 with Laurel and Hardy’s “The Devil’s Brother.” In a neat illustration of the changing times, the theater was designed by the British architect Charles Stevens, whose father Frederic Stevens famously built the Gothic marvel of the Victoria Terminus (now Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus). The Regal was also the first building to have an underground garage, neon lighting and a soda fountain.

Nearby, the Eros cinema, built five years later, is more visually striking with its cream-striped red-sandstone facade, ziggurat roofline, and a lavish foyer decorated with classical and Indian friezes. (The building was designed by the Indian architect Sorabji Bhedwar, its interiors by a Czech émigré, Karl Schara .) The 1938 cinema once also hosted a ballroom and restaurant, advertised as “The Rendezvous of the East.” But the Eros is closed, so if you want to catch a film, you’d have to go to the Regal, which nowadays means you’re more likely to see something from Bollywood than Hollywood.

2. Shiv Shanti Bhuvan, Oval Maidan

Shiv Shanti Bhuvan is one in the line of 1930s Art Deco apartment blocks that front the green of the Oval Maidan, looking across it to the Victorian spires of the University and High Court. This face-off between two centuries and styles is what earned the area its heritage designation. The apartments here are among the city’s earliest and perhaps the most international. You might think they were thumbing their noses at the imperial grandees across the cricket pitch — except, as Mr. Dalvi notes, that many of these new apartment buildings have names like Empress Court and Windsor House . Shiv Shanti, located on a street corner, is one of the most impressive with its yellow-and-green color scheme and stack of “eyebrows,” or concrete weather shades, jutting over the windows, a local adaptation. Note the frozen fountain design over the entrance: a common motif popularized by the 1920s French designer René Lalique.

3. New India Assurance, Fort

The city’s Art Deco cinemas exude old Hollywood, and its apartments are functional and stylish. By contrast, the Art Deco office buildings are solid, almost classical, as befits their use by banks and insurance companies. In the city’s Fort neighborhood, the New India Assurance, built in 1936, has strong vertical lines, flanked by two classical-style figures. Heavy sculptural reliefs, designed by N. G. Pansare, idealize workers: farmers, potters, women spinning cotton and carrying pots of water. You’ll find Indian flourishes on nearby insurance buildings too, including sculptures of elephants and of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

4. Soona Mahal, Marine Drive

A short stroll from the Oval lies Marine Drive, nicknamed the “Queen’s Necklace” for the curve of lights at the waterfront at night. Building names here reflect their location — Oceana, Riviera, Chateau Marine — or their Indian ownership. Some were originally owned by maharajas and industrialists. Soona Mahal, built and still owned by the Sidhwa family, is named after the current owner’s grandmother. Typically Deco are the curved balconies and strong vertical lines. The round turret on the roof, echoing a ship’s bridge, is in keeping with the style’s nautical themes. Designed by G. B. Mhatre, an important Indian architect of the time, the building hosted a famous jazz club on the ground floor. Now a music club and pizzeria, it’s the perfect spot to grab a beer and watch the sun set on the Arabian Sea.

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Art Deco Architecture: Everything You Need to Know

By Katherine McLaughlin and Elizabeth Stamp

Art Deco architecture rose to popularity in the 1920s and ’30s, making its way around the world from France to New York to  Shanghai . The movement received global attention at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, where designers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jean Dunand, and Pierre Chareau displayed their groundbreaking work. The design style is known for gleaming lacquered or veneered surfaces, geometric forms, and far-flung influences from Egypt to antiquity. In this guide from  AD, learn more about the opulent style, discover its fascinating history, and tour some of the world’s most beautiful  Art Deco buildings in the world.

What is Art Deco architecture?

Short for the French  Arts Décoratifs (which translates to “decorative arts”), Art Deco architecture is the structural manifestation of a broader movement that encompassed the visual arts, interior design , and product design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, particularly in Europe and the United States. “Today, it’s probably one of the most popular architectural styles out there,” says  Anthony Robins , the vice president of the  Art Deco Society of New York and author of  New York Art Deco: A Guide to Gotham's Jazz Age Architecture .  “And it’s the only architectural style I know of that regularly shows up in the  New York Times  crossword puzzle, so that tells you something about how well known it has become.”

The Chrysler Building in New York City

Sometimes referred to as style moderne or simply deco, Art Deco is somewhat of a catch-all term for a variety of sub-styles that emerged in the early 20th century, Robins explains. Deco buildings were often sleek and made use of geometric forms and rich material palettes. And though the style is streamlined, it’s not minimalist by any means. During the Art Deco period, designers and architects sought to develop a uniquely modern architectural style that—unlike revivalist styles—didn’t take inspiration from a previous moment, but rather created its own.

Art Deco architecture is typically defined by the use of geometric shapes and volumes, and the buildings are often constructed from materials such as stucco, chrome, steel, decorative glass, terra-cotta, and aluminum. “It has zigzags, geometric patterns, stylized floral patterns, and especially vertical windows,” Robins says. “In fact, before they had a name for it, the architects who designed Art Deco buildings in New York called it the vertical style.” In America, particularly in New York City, the aesthetic began specifically as a skyscraper style before spreading to other types of buildings. “It really came together in a series of skyscrapers—maybe two dozen—designed by a handful of architects who all knew each other,” Robins says.

History of Art Deco architecture

Eastern Columbia Lofts in Los Angeles, California

To understand the Art Deco movement fully, one has to travel back to the early ’20s and the post–World War I society. “At this time all of these modernistic movements came out, and architects were deliberately turning their backs on the historicism that had come before,” Robins explains. The look was one of many styles that were seen as a way to embrace the future, though Art Deco specifically is generally traced to Paris and to  the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, where it was first exhibited in 1925.

However, the style wasn’t named until years later. In 1966, curators of an exhibit at the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts put on an exhibition looking back at styles of the 1920s. “They had Bauhaus, International Style, and they also looked at the very influential exhibition from Paris,” Robins says. “They shortened that very long title, and voilà, Art Deco as an expression was born.”

The American Radiator Building in New York City. Now the structure houses the Bryant Park Hotel .

Because of its widespread popularity, each city developed their own unique take on the look. In America, the style’s roots can largely be traced to New York City. “Until this point, American architects really tended to design their buildings with one eye looking over their left shoulder at Europe,” Robins explains. After World War I ended, the United States entered into the Roaring Twenties, “and New York emerges as this image of the brash, modern metropolis of the New World,” Robins explains. Here, Art Deco blossomed into a building aesthetic that didn’t look to copy or revise, but rather create anew. “It becomes this symbol. We’re no longer looking into the European past. We are looking to the American present and future.” It’s at this point that architects begin designing many of the most famous Art Deco buildings, like The Chrysler Building, that redefined the midtown Manhattan skyline before the style started spreading to other building types.

Because Art Deco came about around the same time as other modernist aesthetics, these styles are often credited as influencing the emergency of Deco. Art Nouveau and Bahaus often come up in the conversation, as does Cubism and Fauvism. “When they’re happening, there aren’t such clean lines between these movements,” Robins adds. “That’s how historians look back on it and say, ‘Here’s my chapter on Art Nouveau, here’s my chapter on Art Deco, here’s my chapter on the Bauhaus.’ There’s a lot of mushing around.”

Defining elements and characteristics of Art Deco architecture

The Nebraska Capitol Building in Lincoln, Nebraska

According to Robins, there are four main characteristics to know when studying Art Deco architecture.

Consider the following characteristics seen in Art Deco buildings:

Art Deco buildings are often visible from any angle. Instead of appearing two-dimensional—the way many buildings look when placed directly next to each other—art deco buildings consistently appear three-dimensional. “One way you do this is by building skyscrapers that tower over the neighbors, but they also did more than that.” Robins says. “Architects would chamfer the corners or curve the corners, they’d use setbacks and other designs to give the sense of three dimensions.”

Radio City Music Hall in New York City

“The color on buildings is generally monotone and it’s often gray,” Robins says. “But that’s not the case for Art Deco buildings.” Art Deco design often employs the use of vibrant colors including yellow, green, red, and blue.

Ornamentation is a large part of the Art Deco ethos. “There are two basic kinds of Art Deco ornaments,” Robins says. Generally you’ll find either abstract geometric patterns—things like zigzags, chevrons, lighting bolts, or sunbursts—or stylized floral patterns. “That’s something that looks natural but wouldn’t actually find in nature like that.”

Even Art Deco buildings that aren’t skyscrapers have a sense of verticality. One of the main ways architects achieved this effect was through the use of vertical window treatments.

Famous Art Deco architecture examples and architects

Chrysler Building, New York

The Manhattan landmark was designed by architect William van Alen and completed in 1930, when, at 1,046 feet, it was briefly the tallest building in the world. The distinctive steel spire is embellished with sunburst motifs and eagle gargoyles.

LeVeque Tower, Columbus, Ohio

The Art Deco tower was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and completed in 1927. Located downtown, the 555-foot-tall building is clad in molded terra-cotta tiles and once served as an aerial lighthouse for pilots.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Sarah Archer

By Stefanie Waldek

The Empire State Building (New York)

Designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, the Empire State Building is among the most famous Art Deco skyscrapers in the world. The sky-high structure was built between 1930 and 1931 and was the tallest building in the world when it was completed. However, because of the Great Depression, much of the building was empty during its first decade of life, and the owners didn’t make a profit until the 1950s.

Eastern Columbia Building, Los Angeles

Located in Downtown Los Angeles, the 1930 building features a striking turquoise terra-cotta exterior. The landmark was designed by prominent LA architect Claud Beelman, who created several of the city’s Art Deco structures.

Guardian Building, Detroit

The Art Deco skyscraper—nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance—was designed by architect Wirt C. Rowland and completed in 1929. The interior and exterior include an abundance of elaborate period details, such as mosaics, murals, and stained glass.

Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai

Located on the Bund, the Cathay Hotel building—now known as the Fairmont Peace Hotel—is one of Shanghai’s Art Deco gems. The building was commissioned by real estate tycoon Sir Victor Sassoon and completed in 1929.

Palais de Chaillot, Paris

Built for the 1937 International Exhibition, the Palais de Chaillot was designed by architects Jacques Carlu, Louis-Hippolyte Boileau, and Léon Azéma. The complex includes contributions from dozens of artisans of the period.

By Lola Ogunnaike

By Natalia Rachlin

By Jessica Cherner

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What is Art Deco Style? Everything You Need To Know

Whether you want to bring the pages of The Great Gatsby to life, re-create the bustling energy of South Beach, or travel back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Art Deco style of the roaring 1920s and 30s might be for you! Art Deco design is characterized by the perfect balance of glitz and glamor alongside geometric lines and vibrant color. (And you know we love some color around here.) So, want to make your home the “cat’s pajamas?” The LiLi Tile Team defines the style and answers all your questions. So sit down because it’s time for Art Deco Design 101. Class is in session! 

What is Art Deco Style?

Art Deco is a visual arts, architecture, and interior-design movement popularized in the 1920s and 30s. It came about during an age of new technology and the start of international travel. So, the look embraces modern metallics, glass, vibrant colors, geometric shapes, and futuristic designs paired with global cultural influences. Art Deco design is often associated with the Jazz Age and the Golden Age of Hollywood, evoking a sense of glitz and glamor. Our fixation with Hollywood stars has only increased, making the signature style of celebrities endure through the decades. Art Deco had a revitalization in the 80s, with a funkier take on the look to include glass block, neon, and vibrant pinks and blues.  The exuberant nature of this style extends from architecture to interior furnishings, fashion to graphic design. Art Deco style architecture encompasses many key attributes.

Field Trip: Where to Find Art Deco Style Inspiration

The advancements in trains, planes, and ships in the 1920s meant people could travel in style. So, why not take a cue from Gatsby himself and take a trip to discover your Art Deco design inspiration? New York, Los Angeles, and Miami have some of the best Art Deco architecture in the world. In Manhattan, you can take notes on the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings. These skyscrapers feature futuristic metallic accents and highly geometric structures. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Eastern Columbia Building in downtown LA with its blue and gold exterior is a prime example of the Art Deco palette. Miami, however, has the highest concentration of Art Deco design in the world, making it a prime spot to discover inspiration. The historic Deco District is home to the Essex House Hotel, The Carlyle, and The Marlin — all featuring curvy, pastel Deco designs that make the style so iconic. 

10 Ways to Add Art Deco Style to Your Home

Now that you know a little bit more about Art Deco design, it’s time to re-create the look for yourself. Here are 10 ways to add Art Deco style to your home. 

1. Welcome Some Twists and Curves 

The road to an Art Deco inspired interior is one with a few twists and curves — but in the best possible way! Art Deco design favors rounded corners and curvy designs, which you can see in the ornamentation on top of the Chrysler Building. Bring the curves in through rounded furniture pieces, curved patterns, and trendy accessories like a blob mirror. Many of the tile designs in our new Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile collection feature curved patterns in classic Art Deco colors, allowing you to bring the look to bathrooms, kitchen backsplashes, and fireplace surrounds.  

2. Add a Little Sparkle Sparkle 

In the 20s and 30s, consumers embraced new technologies and futuristic trends. So, there was an affinity toward metallics, mirrors, acrylic, glass, crystal, and anything else with a bit of sparkle. Add some shimmer to your home with mirror accents, crystal chandeliers, and acrylic furniture. Additionally, you can bring in some sparkle with metal insert cement tiles and our Raffia Mother of Pearl Terrazzo tile featuring a geometric Art Deco pattern that twinkles in the light.  

3. Search for Global Inspiration 

Travel boomed in the 1920s thanks to faster trains, bigger ships, and the brand-new airplane. So, the Art Deco style took on global inspiration from Africa, the Middle East, Greece, and Asia. Consider displaying collections from your travels to enhance your space or look for patterns inspired by other cultures. For example, our Athena tile mimics the patterns of ancient Greek pottery, making it the perfect fit for an Art Deco space. 

4. Or Look No Further Than South Beach 

Take a trip to Florida to soak up the sun and all things Art Deco. South Beach, Miami, is one of the world's most famous Art Deco travel destinations because it’s home to one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco architecture. Miami offers a lighter, beachier twist on the style with pastel colors, palm tree prints, and a casual coastal look that feels less formal and more inviting.

5. Go Big and Bold with Color 

The Art Deco movement valued bold colors, including deep yellows, pinks, greens, and blues. Our Deco inspired Valentina tile combines all the top Art Deco colors in one bold, geometric pattern. This cement tile will instantly transform your space into a Deco haven. 

6. Take a Refresher Course in Geometry 

This Design 101 course requires a prerequisite in geometry. Don’t worry. We won’t make you memorize the Pythagorean theorem. However, you will want to learn how to incorporate geometric patterns, including triangles, into your Art Deco home. Our Cairo triangle tile delivers bold lines, accentuated by some glamorous brass accents — perfect for a Deco backsplash.  

7. Fall in Love with Laquer 

Get ready to embrace even more shine. We told you this style is all about the glitz! Shiny lacquered wood furniture is a popular element in Art Deco interiors. Pair antique lacquered wood pieces alongside metal, acrylic, and high-gloss paint furnishings to give your space a contemporary edge.

8. Embrace Your Wild Side 

Embrace your wild side with some animal print, and don’t be afraid of clashing. More is more when it comes to Art Deco. So, feel free to bring in zebra, cheetah, and any other animal motif you can think of. We think peacocks make a great addition to a Deco room, and our Peacock tile by Adam Trest is the perfect whimsical accent. 

9. Soak Up the Sun 

Sunbursts are another popular pattern in Art Deco design. As a bonus, they also channel that beautiful Miami sunset. You can bring starburst patterns through wallpaper, fabric, light fixtures, and even tiles. Our Sunny and Rise mini hexagon tiles feature two radiant sunburst patterns perfect for any Art Deco room. 

10. Stay Glamorous 

When in doubt, channel your inner Hollywood star. The Art Deco style is all about the glamorous lifestyle of the roaring 20s and 30s. So stay glamorous and never hold back. 

Create an Art Deco Work of Art  

Now that you know the basics, you can create your own Art Deco work of art. Remember, the Art Deco style is curated and flexible. So, you can either lean into a regal Gatsby motif or have fun with a laidback Miami approach. Stick to glamorous finishes, and you’ll be well on your way to a roaring design! 

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15 Beautiful French Art-Deco Travel Posters by Roger Broders

Roger Broders was born in Paris in 1883. A brilliant illustrator he is best known for his travel posters, many of them commissioned by the French railway company Paris, Lyon, Mediteranée (PLM). From 1922 to 1932 he dedicated himself to poster art, although producing fewer than 100 posters in that time.

In 1925 he changed the style of his work and became to be heavily influenced by the Art Deco movement and many of his posters at this time were cre­ated under the influ­ence of the Art Deco style. Most of his really great work appeared after 1928 and the mag­nif­i­cent travel posters he created set him apart from other artists of the time.

Dunkerque, c.1930.

Marseille, Porte de L’Afrique du Nord, 1929.

Winter sports in the French Alps c.1930.

Golden Mountain Pullman Express, c.1930.

La Route des Alpes, travel poster for PLM, c.1920

Le Hohwald, Champ du Feu, Alsace c.1930.

The Lake at Annecy, 1930.

The beach at Calvi, Corsica, 1928.

Monte-Carlo, 1930.

Antibes, 1929.

Bandol resort, 1932.

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America's Beautiful Art Deco Hotels in Stunning Images

Posted: December 21, 2023 | Last updated: December 22, 2023

Modern masterpieces

Arts Decoratifs (or Art Deco, as it was later known) is an arts and architecture movement from the 1920s and 1930s. Distinctive for its geometric features and lines of symmetry, the style became popular for the many hotels built during a golden age of hospitality in the US. Here we look at some of the most stunning hotels around America that ooze Art Deco features – all mirrors, rich hues, painted glass and bold shapes. Some are iconic institutions with storied histories, others are modern hotels housed in heritage buildings where retro touches take on a contemporary twist.

Sunset Tower Hotel, West Hollywood, California

An Art Deco beauty inside and out, the Sunset Tower has been a West Hollywood landmark since 1929 when architect Leland A Bryant’s strikingly modern skyscraper shot up on Sunset Boulevard. The luxury apartment hotel was frequented by a who’s who of Hollywood, including John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. It also starred in various films including The Italian Job and Get Shorty . Now owned by hotelier Jeff Klein, the Sunset Tower Hotel  underwent a major renovation that ensured the Art Deco skyscraper’s period character was retained and its reputation as one of the city’s A-list hotspots lives on. 

Graduate Seattle, Washington

Another iconic 1930s tower block home to a handsome boutique hotel can be found in Seattle’s University District. Designed by architect Robert Reamer in 1930, it first opened as the Edmond Meany Hotel with one its USPs being that every room boasted a corner view. Good news for the Graduate Seattle’s guests, who can gaze across the city to the Olympic Mountains as they recline on their beds, complete with scalloped headboards. For more views, the rooftop bar is a welcome modern addition. Elsewhere, the hotel charms with Art Deco flourishes including vividly patterned carpets, bold colors, elegant period lighting and original Terrazzo flooring in its marble-clad lobby.

The Siren Hotel, Detroit, Michigan

The sultry Siren Hotel  occupies Detroit’s Wurlitzer building, a then deeply modern skyscraper designed in 1926 by local Robert Finn. Abandoned for a time, the historic structure has a new lease of life as the Siren, which opened in 2018 after extensive restoration of its exterior and original features including the travertine floors, terracotta signs and plaster detailing (as pictured here in the Penthouse suite). Add to that vintage and replica furniture pieces and it’s quite the glam gem. Don’t ignore the siren call of the Candy Bar, a fabulously pink lounge with a huge dripping chandelier and plush pastel banquettes calling out for good times.

The Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, Arizona

After it opened in Phoenix in 1929, the Arizona Biltmore soon became an exclusive desert playground for Hollywood royalty with everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra gracing its guest book. Built by the McArthur brothers, early pioneers of Arizona tourism, the building has a strong Frank Lloyd Wright influence (an architect who had a great impact on the USA’s Art Deco movement). One of its most lavish features is the ballroom’s gold-leaf ceiling, the largest in the world after the Taj Mahal. Look out for the exquisite stained-glass display in its entrance too – it was designed by Wright and installed in the 1970s.

The Chatwal, New York City, New York

The Chatwal's  elegant interiors hark back to the city’s hedonistic Jazz Age. Rooms and suites channel a 1930s ocean liner-aesthetic – think leather-wrapped wardrobes that resemble vintage trunks, backgammon sets and tinted-mirror clad bathrooms. Period glamor abounds in the Lambs Club restaurant too – there are red leather banquettes, dark wood panels and black-and-white photography paying homage to its theatrical origins. The building, designed by prominent architect Stanford White, was home to Lambs, America’s first professional theatrical club. It was restored and transformed into the luxurious boutique hotel in 2010.

Raleigh Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida

A landmark oceanfront hotel constructed in the 1940s in what’s now known as the Art Deco District, the Raleigh was the work of local architect Lawrence Murray Dixon. It sadly closed in 2017 after it was damaged by Hurricane Irma. However, the historic property is set to bloom once again when it reopens as  Rosewood The Raleigh in 2025 after an epic restoration. Overseen by US architect Peter Marino, the revitalized Raleigh will incorporate the neighboring Richmond and South Seas hotels, whose stunning Art Deco façades will also be restored. Among the historic features being preserved are the Raleigh’s curvaceous swimming pool, said to have been Miami’s most iconic.

Rand Tower Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota

A landmark on Minneapolis’s skyline since 1929, the Rand Tower Hotel  was the tallest building in the city when it first opened. The brainchild of Rufus R Rand, a World War I aviator and influential business leader, the 26-storey limestone and glass tower exhibited the clean lines and bas-relief decorative features that were typical of Art Deco design. In 2020, the office building was converted into a luxurious hotel after an £89 million ($110m) renovation. This involved the meticulous restoration of its exterior and interior period features including elevator finishes, Terrazzo floors, detailed enameling and an original marble spiral staircase. 

Shelborne South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida

Another of Miami’s historic beachside playgrounds, Shelborne South Beach was the work of architect Igor Polevitsky. It has all the hallmarks of the era: an all-white facade, Terrazzo flooring, a centerpiece pool and a ballroom for lavish parties. It was used as a venue for the Miss USA Pageant in the 1940s. After a recent multi-million dollar remodel, the oceanfront landmark is back to its glory days with a fresh retro-chic feel. There's a new beach club, destination restaurants and an elegant pool area complete with the original diving dock.

The Evelyn, New York City, New York

Boasting a beautiful Beaux Arts exterior, The Evelyn is the very vision of Art Deco-inspired decor within. Striking geometric stained-glass windows grace the lobby, which has a marble-clad welcome desk and elegant horseshoe-shaped cocktail bar. Its deep green leather banquettes are the perfect spot for sipping a Prohibition-era inspired cocktail or two. Originally debuting as Hotel Broztell in 1905, the Evelyn opened in 2017 and is in NoMad (North of Madison Square Park). Known as Tin Pan Alley back in the day, the eclectic neighborhood was intertwined with New York’s thriving music scene.

The Plaza Hotel, New York City, New York

Steeped in century-old NYC glamor, The Plaza was built before the Art Deco movement in 1907. But the hotel’s history is intertwined with the Roaring Twenties, as it featured in F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby . Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were regular guests at the Plaza, whose ornate Grand Ballroom, which opened in the 1920s, was a venue for lavish galas attended by New York’s high society. The Fitzgerald Suite King (pictured) opened in 2013, designed by Catherine Martin, production and costume designer for Baz Luhrmann’s movie  Gatsby . Photos of the literary power couple adorn the walls and replica period pieces pepper the elegant rooms.

The Don CeSar, St Pete Beach, Florida

Pink, palatial and with a prime position by the sugar-white sand of St Pete Beach, the Don CeSar opened in 1928. It also played host to man of the moment F. Scott Fitzgerald along with other socialites of the age. Built by architect Henry H Dupont, its flamboyant exterior exhibited Spanish and British colonial influences while extravagant Art Deco features adorned its lobby and ballroom. After being used by the army in World War II, it became office space through to the Sixties when it fell into disrepair. It reopened as a hotel in 1973 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Allegro Royal Sonesta Hotel Chicago Loop, Illinois

Built in 1926 on the site of a 19th-century hotel, the remodeled New Bismarck Hotel included the construction of a 2,500-seat theater, a venue for vaudeville acts and well-known bands. At the hub of Chicago’s entertainment area, the 600-room hotel featured a striking marble staircase with hand-wrought balustrade and lavish ballroom, the Walnut Room. Its latest incarnation as the Allegro Royal Sonesta has seen its period charm reinvigorated from the geometric patterned wallpaper, vintage desks and light fittings in its bedrooms to its elegant lobby adorned with flapper girl-inspired artwork, tasseled chandelier and large mural of the 1930s ocean liner SS Normandie.

Murray Hotel, Silver City, New Mexico

A rare vintage gem in Silver City’s historic downtown, the Murray Hotel is a stunning example of Streamline Moderne, a subset of Art Deco characterized by its simplicity. Built after the Great Depression, the building dates from 1938 and was the city’s tallest building at the time. After a much-needed refresh decades later, the hotel reopened in 2012 and continues to charm guests with its period character that extends from the exterior's symmetrical lines and white curved frontage to its geometric patterned carpets and color palette. 

Pendry Hotel, Chicago, Illinois

Another vintage beauty in Chicago's Loop neighborhood, the Pendry packs in the retro charm. The large and luxurious hotel opened in 2021, bringing new life to a 1929 skyscraper. The striking 37-storey structure was built as the regional HQ of the Union Carbide & Carbon company. Now a historic landmark, the tower’s facade is clad in dark green terracotta with gold leaf accents. At street level it has polished black granite and marble with an elegant bronze trim.

The Sinclair, Fort Worth, Texas

A sleek 17-storey skyscraper, the Sinclair building was built in Fort Worth in 1929 at the behest of oil pioneer Richard O Dulaney. It was to be the HQ of Sinclair Oil Company, during the state’s early oil boom. The elaborate geometric ornamentation of its facade is typical of the period’s Zig-Zag Moderne design style. Converted to a hotel in 2019 and part of the Marriott Autograph collection, The Sinclair is peppered with exquisite features of the period, from its marble-clad lobby to its lifts with their original Art Deco facades beautifully restored.

Ace Hotel New Orleans, Louisiana

Ace Hotel New Orleans occupies an Art Deco building in the city's Central Business District that dates from 1928. First built to house Barnett's Furniture, it was the work of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth, the architects that designed Louisiana's State Capitol in Baton Rouge. The Ace Hotel opened in 2019 and pays tribute to the design aesthetic of the period and the city’s French heritage with its vintage-style furniture, rich color palette and dark wood paneling. The high ceilinged and light-filled restaurant Josephine Estelle is the picture of period elegance with its green velvet banquettes, table lamps and huge glass windows.

Galleria Park Hotel, San Francisco, California

Set in San Francisco’s Financial District, Galleria Park Hotel has brought a new lease of life to a 1911 building. Originally the Hotel Sutter, the building displays Art Nouveau and Art Deco features, many of which were restored in its stylish overhaul. It still has its original lift banks while its sleek lobby has retained its white marble staircase and decorative balustrades. Modern design flourishes such as geometric patterned wallpaper, statement chandeliers and heavy drapery are also a nod to the building's heritage. The dark and moody Parisian-style Gaspar Brasserie brims with period charm from the vintage posters and inviting leather banquettes to the dainty coupe glasses used for Champagne.

Lyle, Washington DC

A delicious new boutique hotel with old bones, the Lyle  has breathed new life into a stunning 1940s building in Washington DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood. It’s a sensitive reimagining of the space that brings an understated Art Deco glamor to the former apartment block. Its original entrance canopy has been restored, while inside its intimate bar has striking geometric stained glass, leather seating and period pendant lamps. In a nod to its residential past, 56 of its 196 bedrooms have kitchenettes. Vintage burlwood headboards and rattan seating recall the building’s roots. 

Hotel Phillips, Kansas City, Missouri

The high-rise Hotel Phillips was the tallest building in Kansas City when it appeared on the skyline in 1931. Still operating as a hotel, it’s now part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. While the bedrooms are contemporary in style, its public areas exude old-world elegance. The lobby retains much of its original splendor with its walnut paneling, chandeliers and striking staircase sculpture, the Goddess of Dawn. It’s easy to picture yourself sashaying back into the Jazz Age as you enter this historic hotel. Keep the feeling going by seeking out its basement speakeasy. 

The Georgian Hotel, Santa Monica, California

The Georgian has cut a striking figure on Santa Monica’s oceanside since 1933, when the neighborhood was a sleepy seaside community. Known as Santa Monica’s “First Lady”, the hotel was the vision of Rosamond Borde, a hotelier who commissioned architect M Eugene Durfee to design a grand hotel to attract an affluent crowd. His bold design drew on both the Romanesque Revival and fashionable Art Deco movements. The Georgian was later an exclusive and illicit hangout as one of Los Angeles's first speakeasies. Its star appeal faded in the subsequent decades, but a recent restoration has seen the pastel-hued beauty restored to its former chichi self.

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Ohio

Designed in 1931, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza is a treasure of a hotel with its exquisite French Art Deco design. A designated National Historic Landmark, it was constructed as part of Cincinnati’s Carew Tower, a multipurpose high-rise with shops, restaurants and office space. First known as St Netherland Plaza, the 800-room hotel had all the mod cons from baths in its bedrooms and fast lifts to multiple restaurants. The lavish tiered ballroom, the Caprice Pavilion was a hotspot of the age. In fact, local star Doris Day made her professional debut there in 1937. Now part of Hilton Hotels & Resorts, the hotel's historic integrity remains beautifully intact from its polished wood and mosaic marble finishings to its splendid Palm Court. 

Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Florida

Signature white-and-red striped parasols, plush beach cabanas, a gold ceilinged lobby, cabaret theater and lounges dripping with chandeliers. Everything about the Faena Hotel Miami Beach screams golden age glamor. Originally opening as the Saxony Hotel in 1948, it was one of the area’s first luxury resorts and designed by architect Roy F France. Architects Norman Foster and Rem Koolhaus were commissioned by Argentine hotelier Alan Faena to work on the hotel's meticulous restoration and redesign. The revived 1940s hotel reopened in 2020 with its distinct Art Deco-imbued interiors designed in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann and wife Catherine Martin. 

Holston House, Nashville, Tennessee

A magnificent Art Deco tower turned contemporary boutique hotel in downtown Nashville, Holston House is bound to be a hit. The building, which is a fabulous showcase for the architecture and decor of the 1920s, was completed in 1929 by esteemed local architects Marr and Holman. It originally housed the James Robertson Hotel until it was used as war accommodation in the 1940s and then became apartments. In 2017 Holston House opened as part of the Hyatt group, retaining many period features from the geometric patterns on its limestone facade to its octagon windows and high-ceilinged lobby. Delightful modern additions include a rooftop bar and pool.

Hotel Edison, New York City, New York

An Art Deco diamond on Times Square, Hotel Edison opened its doors in 1931 with its inventor namesake switching on the marquee lights himself. It was one of the first Art Deco hotels in the Theater District and its Edison Ballroom swiftly became a hub for socializing. The handsome heritage building has since had star turns in films including The Godfather and Birdman . The Edison's connections to the Jazz Age are still palpable, especially in its The Rum House, a dark and moody joint where live jazz keeps the tradition going.

Now check out the unbelievable history and secrets of New York City

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17 Exciting Things to do in Moscow

Written By: Linda Voltaire

Updated On: December 21, 2022

Visiting Russia? These are the top 17 things to do in Moscow to help you plan your trip.

If the western world has New York City , the first great metropolis on the eastern side of our planet is Moscow. A huge city with a complicated and impressive history, Moscow gets a bad rep over Russian politics – but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Capital to the largest country in the world, Moscow takes the grandeur of its standing very seriously.

This is a place where luxury is king and where opulence takes a front seat in every aspect of life. The buildings are grand and imposing, the parks are luscious and enormous, and even the subway stations look different in Moscow than anywhere else in the world.

Table of Contents

Best Things to do in Moscow, Russia

Walking around Moscow is also going through the tumultuous history of the 20th century, which had Russia as one of its main protagonists. There are fascinating remains of these times everywhere in the former Soviet capital, from the gorgeous Seven Sisters skyscrapers to the Orthodox cathedrals that were closed for the better part of a century.  Still, Moscow is also a completely modern city, with a vibrant social and party scene, incredible restaurants, and some of the most luxurious hotels in the world.

After living in Russia’s capital as an ex-pat for four years, I got the privilege to experience not only the main attractions in Moscow but also the everyday life in this huge city and quickly found my sweat spots off the beaten tracks! So here is my list of my top 17 things to do in this exciting metropolis!

Attractions in Moscow

When visiting a famous city like this one, it’s a must to go through the most iconic landmarks first. Moscow has plenty of those, most of them in the center of the city, which is very well-planned for tourists.

1. The Red Square, Kremlin & Surrounding Area

No place tells the story of Moscow’s power in the past century the way the Red Square does. This is where the biggest political meetings in the USSR occurred for many decades, and you can feel the power on each step.

Here, you’ll also find the historic museum at the entrance, showcasing the decades of history behind this iconic landmark. The Lenin Mausoleum, perhaps the most famous resting place in the world and home to the remains of the former communist leader, is also here.

On one side of the Red Square you’ll find the Kremlin, the fortified complex that now hosts the presidential residence. This is also home to the most iconic of all Moscovite landmarks: St. Basil’s Cathedral, a 16th-century marvel of colors. This is the best spot to take a selfie and show the world you’ve reached the Russian capital!

• Get your Kremlin Skip the Line Tickets and Kremlin tour here.
• Free cancellation up to 24-hours in advance of the tour.

2. Bolshoi Theatre

You can easily spend a couple of days just exploring the Moscovite city centre, and the Bolshoi Theatre should be your second stop. Walk past the Red Square and then head to the nearby Bolshoi Theatre, one of the oldest and most renowned houses of opera and ballet on Earth.

Visit for the impressive early 19th-century architecture, but if you’re seeing a ballet performance, make sure you book between 3 and 6 months in advance! I can strongly recommend this as it is a truly unique experience!

• Book a private 2-hour tour of the legendary Bolshoi Theatre.
• See the presidential box reserved for tzars, watch a rehearsal and skip the lines through a separate entrance.
• Free Cancellation up to 24-hours in advance.

3. Luxury Shopping at GUM and TSUM

While many might think of Moscow as the sad place with the long bread queues from the USSR days, it’s been quite the capitalist haven for a while.

If you’re up for some shopping, you’ll find one of the biggest luxury malls in town, TSUM, right behind the Bolshoi and GUM, at the red square. GUM is the most famous department store in town, where you’ll find luxury everywhere and all high-end brand. 

All in an imposing late 19th-century building with lots of history, worth a visit just for the design, its bridges and the glass roof even though you are not up for shopping!

4. Christ the Savior Cathedral

A newer addition to the gorgeous Moscovite cathedrals and my grandeur neighbor during my years in the city Don’t let the young age of this building fool you. After the perestroika in the early 90s, the newly revived Russian Orthodox Church received permission to build a cathedral on this site. They did the location honors and built the largest temple of the Christian Orthodox Church.

The façade is as grand as you’d expect, but it’s the inside that will mesmerize you, with its domes as tall as the skies in bright gold and gorgeous paintings and decor! Bring a shawl to cover your hair to adjust to the local tradition.

Head to the back of the cathedral and you will find one of the most photographed bridges in Moscow, the Patriarshiy Most. This is the perfect spot to get a good view and photo of the cathedral but also to see the Kreml and Gorky Park from a distance. Or why not just enjoy a moment watching the river and its boats!  

• Get around Moscow with ease using the Hop On Hop Off boat and Bus ticket. 24, 48 or 72-hour tickets available.

5. Gorky Park

Cross the river and head to Gorky Park along the Moscow river. The most famous green area in town, similar to New York ’s Central Park and the weekend hangout for locals. There are many beautiful parks in the city, but if you’re only visiting for a few days, this is the unmissable one! 

With fair attractions to entertain children, beautiful artificial lakes and gardens, and lots of outdoor activities, it’s a lovely place to relax. A place of rest in the middle of the metropolis. The area in front of the New Tretyakov Gallery & the Muzeon Park of Arts is actually one of my favorite oasis as a bit more quiet and peaceful than Gorky itself.

Why not spend some time in the museum to get a great tour of Russia’s history through art or just enjoy the art exhibition outside where local artists spend their weekends. 

6. River Cruising

One of the best ways to experience Moscow is from the Moscow River. There are many stops for the boats and one is just next to Gorky Park. See the city from another perspective – and turn the ride into a romantic one by taking the evening cruise. Moscow is magic during the night.

If you’re looking for a truly luxurious experience, take the Radisson Blu cruise – or the Erwin for a delicious seafood dinner. Both stop at Gorky or at the luxury Radisson Royal Hotel, set in one of the Seven Sister’s skyscrapers.

• We use Get Your Guide when booking city tours and they offer a River Sightseeing Cruise seeing all the main tourist attractions in Moscow

7. Metro Hopping

First inaugurated in the 1930s, the Moscow subway system is one of the oldest in the world, and certainly the most beautiful. Started under Stalinist times, each metro station is dedicated to grandeur and oozing personality.

Visiting the subway stops is an attraction in and of itself, and Komsomolskaya, Mayakovskaya, Kropotkinskaya are my favorites. Those surrounding the Red Square are also mesmerizing – in general, these are kind of like underground palaces.

Most of the signs at the Moscow Metro now have Latin letters, so it’s very easy to get around!Unfortunately, the trains are not as beautiful and pleasant as the stations but still, this is a true Moscow experience.  Take a guided tour of the 9 most beautiful Metro Stations including the award-winning art deco station. See more details here.

8. Arbatskaya & Artsy Moscow

Novy Arbat Street is one of the most touristy areas in the city, with lots of shops and cafés directed at visitors. When you walk a little beyond, you’ll find a different part of town, where the hip scene thrives because so many artists live in the area. Just follow the small streets with fewer tourists!

9. Moscow State University View

In his effort to create a grander Moscow, Stalin had seven skyscrapers built in different parts of town; they’re called the Seven Sisters. The largest of these buildings hosts the main building of the Moscow State University, one of the most prestigious colleges in Russia – and the one with the best view.

Although this is a little outside the city centre, the sight from above is more than worth it, with the nearby fountains and park and then the whole of the city behind them.

10. Russian Market

If you love to visit markets wherever you go, Moscow has one of the most impressive ones in the world – the Izmailovsky. You can easily take the metro here and feel like you’ve been transported to another time.

This place was first built in the 16th century and retains the look of an old fairytale, with a lineup of colorful old castle. A lovely local experience beyond the confines of the bustling metropolis, where you can also try some delicious Russian barbecue.

Here, you’ll find beautiful souvenirs at great prices.

Off The Beaten Track Moscow

Once you’ve covered the most touristic spots, Moscow still has plenty to offer – and the places below will also be full of locals! Moscow is a city for hipsters, full of trendy and arty spots where you can literally feel the creativity oozing! So for some local vibes, I would strongly recommend my sweat spots below!

11. Patriarshiye Prudy

This is my favorite area in the entire city! While Moscow is generally a very noisy metropolis, Patriarch Ponds is far quieter, yet such a vibrant place. This is a very hip and trendy area making you think you are rather in Paris than in Moscow. Here the streets are narrow and full of chic eateries and clubs to see the local crowd.

A little bohemian and with an air of peace you won’t find anywhere in the city this is a great spot to spend an afternoon with your thoughts.

12. ArtPlay

Barely 15 minutes away from the city center you’ll find the artsiest Moscow district: ArtPlay. For decades, this block was a factory, but it was renovated to become a hub for the arts not too long ago.

Now, you’ll find it’s full of exhibitions, showrooms and art schools – and some of the most creative people in town. Writers, painters, and young hip people use ArtPlay as a rendezvous, and you can feel the creative energy here. The industrial design with modern interior decoration is also a feast for the eyes!

13. Shopping Local Designs

If you’re into design, both international and local, you’ll find lots of cute things at Patriarshiye Prudy. Department store Podium Market is also a great spot for shopping, as a department store everywhere in town, with lots of local and international brands. There’s one in the Four Seasons Hotel next to Red Square. My favorite Moscow mall is Tsvetnoy Central Market, a cool spot with great brands, lots of inspo, and even a cute café!

14. Moscow City

Like many other great capitals of the world, for the past few decades, Moscow has hosted a super modern area full of modern skyscrapers – Moscow City. With a completely different vibe than the rest of town, it’s like a mini Dubai, with lots of impressively tall glass buildings. Here, you’ll find the best rooftops in towns, such as Ruski and Sixty they are perfect spots for dining or enjoying a glass of wine with a view. There are also a relatively new shopping mall with lots of international brands called Affimall!

Wine, Dine, and Party in Moscow

Gone are the gloomy Moscow days – cold as it might be in the winter, Russia’s capital is a place for the senses. Great food and drinks abound – and the clubs are hot, too!

15. Where to Eat in Moscow

Moscow is a great metropolis where people love to dine out, and there are endless options for delicious food. The flavors are as diverse as you’d expect from a big city, with options of fine dining and little hipster eateries. 

• For traditional Russian flavors, I can’t recommend Café Pushkin, Dr. Zhivago, and Turnadot enough.
• When looking for international cuisines, Italian is always the way to go, and my local favorite is Probka.
• Fine dining is best done among the clouds at White Rabbit, with European flavors.
• As for the hip spots, you can spend a full day just eating around trendy places, from burgers to Asian fusion.

More Dining Options

• Patriarshiye Prudy offers a lot of small and classy spots with cool concepts, like breakfast restaurants I Love Cake and Fresh.
• For dinner, I love the NYC experience of Saxon & Parole, and the wonderful trendy Pins, with its delicious food and drinks.
• For delicious Asian food head to CutFish. 
• Lastly, there’s a recent revival of food markets in Moscow, offering lots of great choices of international flavors at affordable places.
• Don’t miss out the Vietnamese food stand at the Danilovsky market, and everything at Usachevsky!

16. Rooftopping

Big cities deserve to be seen from above, having a cocktail among the clouds. These are my recommendations for rooftop bars in Moscow.

• As I mentioned in the Moscow City section, Sixty & Ruski are two of my favorites, overlooking the newest part of town. 
• White Rabbit and its fine dining is also a lovely place for a fun dinner looking down on Moscow.
• O2, in the city center, has an advantage above all others: amazing views of the Red Square.
• Buono, above the Radisson Royal Hotel, might be the most romantic rooftop hotel in town, with its candlelit setting.
• Also on the Radisson stands the Mercedes. It’s a luxurious and posh experience with delicious cocktails.
• The Sky Lounge offers a peculiar experience, mixing an old Soviet building with futuristic additions.

17. Moscow by Night

Party the night away! The city is full of bars everywhere, but there are some areas where you’ll find more than others.

• Patriarshiye Prudy has lots of hip and small clubs and great bars, including the super fun private club Clava, which has a great vibe and people from all walks of life.
• For more hipster style bars, Red October is the place to go.
• Streak is a summer favorite, with a lovely terrace to catch a beautiful sunset – plus, their mozzarella bar is delicious.
• At night, Red October lights up with clubs everywhere, including the cool rooftop one Gipsy.
• Jagger is also a great spot during summer with a more relaxed vibe in garden setting. 
• For the traditional Russian luxury experience, go to SohoRooms, a whole other world including all-night go-go dancers.

There are so many things to do in Moscow at night and during the day, you definitely need several days to explore this exciting destination.

Moscow is a must-see city, a city like no other ! I hope you will enjoy this Russian metropolis as much as I did!

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About Linda Voltaire

Linda Voltaire is the owner of Travel with a Silver Lining, home to reviews of gorgeous boutique & design hotels, hip & trendy eateries as well as authentic and personal travel experiences beyond the crowd. She started blogging after a life-changing trip across South America. Follow Linda at TravelWithASilverLining / Facebook / Instagram /

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10 thoughts on “17 Exciting Things to do in Moscow”

These places look so awesome! Moscow is truly a beautiful city

Very good article, you have explained so nicely. Russia has always been a part of history and its good to know about much more about architecture and other things, wish i could see the inside of façade

Thanks for sharing such a nice article.You have very beautifully explained everything that one need for a trip to Moscow.

Nice article. Love the hidden gems and graffiti art, would love to visit Artplay. Thanks for a comprehensive guide to Moscow!

Moscow is a city where the past and the future live side by side. Here we can find everything from medieval fortresses and Soviet monoliths to glass skyscrapers and innovation centers.

Your article is good and meaningful .

Thanks for sharing about ArtPlay district, we didn’t know about it and it looks amazing 🙂 Hopefully there’ll be a second time in Moscow, we visited last May and really liked the city!

Wonderful stuff! I’ve been to Moscow, but not properly – it’s a long story lol!

Anyhoo, my next thing is to fly from Berlin to Moscow and then travel from there to Beijing via the Trans-Mongolian / Trans-Siberian train. Now, if only I could just find the time …!

I hear Moscow is very beautiful at night. I hope to get out there one day. A friend of mine went to St. Petersburg and had a great experience. Despite all the tension we see on the news with Russia and other Countries like the U.S. I wonder what the sentiment is with Russians and foreigners visiting their country for tourism. Especially Americans.

that looks like quite a beautiful place. 🙂

A new walking map of Moscow highlights the city’s early Soviet architecture.

• ALL OVER THE MAP

Tour the Decaying Beauty of Soviet Moscow With This New Map

A new walking map highlights the endangered structures built for a socialist utopia in the 1920s.

Some remarkable buildings were built in the early years of the Soviet Union, guided by dreams of a socialist utopia. These structures were inspired by cubism and other modern art movements, and they featured steel, glass, and other modern materials.

This construction began in the early 20th century, when the nation was emerging from centuries of tsarist rule.“If you can attempt to imagine this era, Russia had no money whatsoever, but it’s full of hope and aspiration and talented people who weren’t able to achieve anything before,” says Derek Lamberton, the founder of Blue Crow Media , an independent publisher based in London that has just released a map of Moscow’s architectural highlights from this period.

The new map highlights more than 50 examples of so-called constructivist architecture , which thrived in Russia during the 1920s and early 1930s. A short description in English and Russian accompanies a photo of each building.

The NKPS building, built in 1934, housed the Ministry of Railroads.

Many of the buildings served socialist purposes, hosting workers clubs or communal kitchens, for example. But in contrast to the dreary brutalist concrete-block buildings of the later Soviet era, the constructivist buildings were bold and futuristic. “They were pretty outrageous,” Lamberton says. (Lamberton worked at National Geographic for two years in the mid-2000s).

The constructivist map of Moscow is the third architecture map from Blue Crow. The first two highlighted the concrete-dominated brutalist architecture and graceful art deco buildings of London, respectively. When those maps found a niche audience, Lamberton says he knew he wanted to do Moscow next. He studied Russian in college and has a masters degree in Russian art and literature. “This was finally the opportunity to do something with my degree,” he says.

To make the maps, Lamberton he teamed up with two muscovites working to preserve the city’s architectural heritage: Natalia Melikova of The Constructivist Project and Nikolai Vassiliev of Docomomo Russia . Melikova also took the photos for the map.

Photos and descriptions of more than 50 constructivist buildings appear on the back of the map.

Hundreds of constructivist buildings remain in Moscow today, but many of them are in danger of demolition or deterioration through neglect. “The city is not interested in the preservation of these buildings,” Lamberton says. “It doesn’t fit in with how Moscow sees itself right now.” Lamberton and his collaborators hope the new map will help draw attention to the issue, but it will have to pass review with the state cartographic agency before it can be distributed in Russia.

Meanwhile, Blue Crow has more architecture maps in the works, including a brutalist map of Washington, D.C., due out in October, and a map of 20th-century architecture in Berlin, due in November.

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10 architectural styles you can find in Moscow (PHOTOS)

1) Medieval Russian architecture

Moscow’s oldest surviving buildings are the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Kremlin cathedrals, and the cathedral of the 15th century Andronikov Monastery that still has original fragments of frescoes by renowned icon painter Andrei Rublev. Pre-Petrine Russia also left us several stone chamber buildings (including the chambers of the boyars Romanov of the 16th-17th centuries and the Old English Yard of the 15th-17th centuries).

The Kremlin cathedrals (15th century)

The chambers of the Romanov boyars (end of the 16th century – early 17th century)

The Savior Cathedral of Andronikov Monastery (15th century)

2) Baroque style

With the ascension of Peter the Great to the Russian throne, a strong Western influence found its way into Russia, including in architecture. The European Baroque style merged with the Russian Uzorochye style, giving birth to the unique style of the Moscow Baroque, which today can be seen in many churches in Moscow and its outskirts, where noble families built churches for themselves.

The Church of the Intercession at Fili (1690-1694)

The architectural ensemble of Novodevichy Convent (late 18th century)

The Church of the Trinity at Troitse-Lykovo (1698-1703)

3) Gothic architecture

After exhaustion set in with the Baroque style, since it’s marked by excessive decorative elements, architects in Russia began experimenting with the Gothic style. Lancet arches and skyward spires were initially foreign to the Russian eye, but in the end they came into fashion and found their way even into Orthodox church architecture.

Tsaritsyno (18th century)

Elektrozavod (1928)

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary (1901-1911)

The mansion of Zinaida Morozova (1893-1898)

4) The (Neo)-Russian style

After many decades of Russia’s love for all things European, finally under Emperor Alexander III at the end of the 19th century it became fashionable to look to the country’s native roots for inspiration. One of the most vivid examples of the Neo-Russian style is the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, which is reminiscent of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. The emperor personally approved the architectural design of this cathedral. In Moscow, many houses were built that looked more like terems . On Red Square, a new, stylized building to exhibit the precious national treasures of the State Historical Museum was erected to join the ensemble of medieval buildings. Read more about the Russian style here .

The State Historical Museum (1875-1883)

The house of the merchant Igumnov (1888-1895)

The Shchukin mansion, now the K. A. Timiryazev’s Biological Museum (1892-1915)

5) Art Nouveau

Asymmetric compositions, floral ornaments, mosaic panels, and an appeal to Russia’s past – all of this was characteristic of the development of the Russian Art Nouveau, one of the most unusual architectural styles that was popular at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Wealthy merchants and art connoisseurs were inspired to build mansions for themselves in the Art Nouveau style; one of the main architects of the Art Nouveau in Moscow was Fyodor Schechtel, who built the famous Ryabushinsky Mansion and the Yaroslavsky railway station.

Ryabushinsky Mansion (1900-1903)

Yaroslavsky railway station (1902-1904)

Hotel Metropol (1899-1905)

6) Avant-garde

In the early 1920s, following the destruction of the civil war, the Soviet authorities gave priority to the architecture of the Avant-garde when it came to rebuilding Moscow. The Soviet capital was adorned with experimental buildings that had minimal decoration; however, they had a well thought-out, practical construction with large windows. Constructivism became the leading trend of the Soviet Avant-garde in architecture; the leaders of this movement were architects Konstantin Melnikov, Alexey Shchusev, and the Vesnin brothers.

The headquarters of the Izvestiya newspaper (1925-1927)

The main office of the People's Commissariat for Agriculture (1928-1933)

Bread Factory № 5 (1931)

Melnikov’s House (1927-1929)

7) Soviet Art Deco (Post-Constructivism)

After the Constructivist experiments with shapes and spaces had run its course, Soviet architects found inspiration in the tenets of Classicism, which was more to Stalin’s tastes. This post-Constructivism became the basis for the Soviet interpretation of the Art Deco style in which, for example, the New York City skyscrapers were built in the 1920s. It’s marked by monumentalism, columns, decorations in the form of coats of arms, bas-reliefs and sculptures, as well as a strictness of form and combination of concrete and metal.

The Russian State Library (1928-1958)

The Ministry of Defense on Kolymazhny Lane (1934-1938)

The State Duma (1932-1935)

8) Stalinist Empire style

As the 1930s progressed, Soviet architecture transformed into a style that art historians call the Stalinist Empire style. It was especially noticeable in the post World War 2 era. This was no longer Classicism but, rather, the pompous and triumphant style of a victorious empire. This architectural style is characterized by its columns, porticos, perfect symmetry, curls, stucco, sculptures, oriel windows and decorative cornices, as well as five-pointed stars and the Soviet coats of arms. Both residential and grand public buildings, such as the Moscow river terminal, were built in such a manner. Stalin’s high rises, with their spires reaching skyward, became the apotheosis of this style. Read more about the Stalinist Empire style here .

Moscow State University (1949-1953) 

Central pavilion of VDNKh (1951-1954)

The North River Terminal (1933-1937)

9) Brutalist style

After Stalin, an ideological struggle began against architectural excess, and for almost two decades standardized residential khrushchyovka buildings became commonplace in the country. In the 1970s, however, when the country had grown richer and had more opportunities, the authorities wanted once again to display the might of the Soviet nation. As such, monolithic buildings composed of massive concrete forms without decoration appeared; they impressed with their colossal size and unconventional shapes. For example, there was the ‘Lying Skyscraper’, and a ‘ship house’, which was built for nuclear industry workers (the main idea was that it was supposed to resemble a nuclear reactor). Also, there was the ominous building of the Moscow oncology center. Even the Ostankino TV tower, looking like a space rocket, stands on a massive concrete foundation and adheres to this style.

N.N. Blokhin’s Oncology Center (1972-1976) 

Aviators’ House (1973-1978)

Ship House (1972-1986)

The Ostankino TV tower (1960-1967) 

10) Luzhkov style (Postmodernism)

The 1990s were challenging times for the country – they’re called ‘wild’ because when the USSR collapsed a new era of market economy sprung up. This was the era of the ‘ New Russians ’ and organized crime. With that, however, there was also a lot more freedom. Former Soviet people now discovered everything Western, and they embarked on a journey to find their own sense of style and taste. This was a period of often disastrous architectural experiments. Under Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who ran Moscow with an iron fist, there appeared many buildings that are today included in lists of the Most Tasteless. The architectural experiments of the 1990s were attempt to create a new style using glass, metal constructions, and hi-tech. Nevertheless, they drew inspiration from the architectural styles of the past  – Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and other eclectic styles.

Nautilus Mall (1999)

Egg House (2002)

The House of Music (2002)

Et cetera Theater (2005)

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10 Ridiculously Spacious Weekender Bags You’ll Want on Hand for Travel This Year — Up to 50% Off at Amazon

Prices start as low as $21 on these functional and stylish duffels.

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Travel + Leisure / Daisy Rodriguez

On certain short vacations, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to pack up your bulky rolling suitcase. Namely, weekend trips. When you’re planning on only being away from home for just a few days, a spacious weekender bag is really all you need to get the job done, and Amazon has proven once again to be the go-to destination for all of your travel needs.

Whether you’re gearing up for a bachelorette trip , a beachside getaway, or even a staycation in your own city, we’ve uncovered the 10 weekender bags currently on sale at Amazon that are about to make your packing experience so much easier. Best of all, prices start as low as just $21.

Vera Bradley Women’s Cotton Weekender Travel Bag

Vera Bradley has been making spacious and reliable duffel bags for years, and this cotton tote is perfect for anything from a short weekend getaway to even longer adventures thanks to the luggage sleeve at the back of the bag that makes it stackable atop your rolling suitcase. Top-carry handles alongside an adjustable shoulder strap make traveling with this bag easy and comfortable, while a multitude of exterior and interior mesh pockets make way for impressive organization. Plus, the entire bag is machine washable so you can rinse away the dirt and grime of the airport once you’ve arrived home. 

Etronik Travel Weekender Bag

If you’ve been eyeing the viral Béis weekender bag but can’t swing the price tag, this best-seller from Etronik is an excellent, wallet-friendly alternative that boasts impressive packing capacity alongside a number of compartments for maximum organization. The roomy primary pocket offers ample space for all of your favorite clothing that you might want to pack for your trip, while the base of the bag is fitted with a special shoe compartment to keep the remnants of filthy city streets away from your clean laundry. Air vents in the shoe compartment ensure that your bag will never get stuffy (even during longer trips), and right now the top-rated tote is on sale for just $36 at Amazon.

Hyc00 Travel Weekender Overnight Bag

Simple, spacious, and reliable, this best-selling tote bag from Hyc00 is a worthy bag selection for overnight and weekend travel, and can even be repurposed as a gym bag in the interim. The 35-liter capacity has room for several days’ worth of clothing, shoes, and toiletries, while a water-resistant exterior is great for traveling during the rainy spring months. The modest size of this bag is airplane compliant, securing its spot as a convenient carry-on, and a simple trolley sleeve also makes this bag a great stackable option alongside a larger rolling suitcase. It even contains a built-in laptop compartment and wet pocket to meet all of your travel needs.

Soaeon Canvas Travel Overnight Weekender Bag

This luxurious and astoundingly spacious weekender bag is a standout choice for travelers (and also currently available for just $38 at Amazon) because not only does it have the packing capacity for up to four days, but it also unzips like a traditional suitcase to allow for even more organized packing. The details of this bag set it apart from competitors as it features durable leather handles, a sturdy, waterproof exterior, and reinforced stitching that will keep it in prime shape for years to come. Just don’t forget to clip the additional 10 percent off coupon at checkout for even more impressive savings.

Foundry Fit & Fresh Art Deco Weekender Bag

Overpackers will be thrilled to get their hands on this exceptionally large weekender bag that’s best suited for long car rides, trips to the beach, or any other occasion when you plan on packing a large volume of items. This tote measures 22 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches, allowing ample space for more than everything you’ll need — just note that it’s not likely a great choice for taking on an airplane. A wide zipper at the top of the bag alongside several interior zippered pockets make it easy to keep your belongings organized and secure, and when this bag is not in use, the canvas material allows it to be easily folded up and kept out of the way. At just $21, you can upgrade your travel experience even on a budget.

Bagsmart Travel Quilted Weekender Bag

Bagsmart excels at crafting high-quality travel gear at affordable prices, and this quilted weekender bag is on sale for just $27 in time for your spring travels ahead. This tote is perfectly suited for air travel and will easily fit in the overhead compartment of most commercial airlines; plus, it comes with a comfy and adjustable shoulder-carry strap, a convenient trolley sleeve, and a portable shoe bag to keep your clothes clean and separated. With enough space to pack for up to a four-day trip, this versatile carry-on is a reliable choice for any trips you have on the agenda for the coming months.

Wogarl 4-piece Weekender Bag Set

Get the most bang for your buck with this four-piece luggage set from Wogarl that not only comes with a weekender bag, but also a shoe bag, a toiletry tote, an additional dopp kit, and even a matching purse. A luggage sleeve at the back of the bag makes it easily stackable for week-long adventures, while a water-resistant exterior promises to keep your belongings safe during any inclement weather you may encounter during your travel days. Plus, the base of the bag features another hidden compartment that’s an excellent place to store your dirty laundry, making for a streamlined unpacking experience once you arrive home. 

Ibfun Weekender Bag

Looking to add some personality to your luggage selection this season? Well, this Ibfun weekender duffel is poised to be a great travel companion thanks to its spacious primary compartment, reinforced and reliable design, and roomy shoe pocket that’s lined with waterproof material to take on rainy weather in style. Right now, this convenient carry-on is double discounted to just $35 at Amazon, and it even boasts enough space to pack for up to four days of traveling (or a weekend trip if you’re an overpacker). And with a bonus toiletry kit and purse included, you can’t go wrong in scoring this unbeatable deal.

Beulptn Small Weekender Bag with Shoe Compartment

Minimalist packers will find this compact weekender to be a worthy addition to their travels — especially considering it’s on sale for just $24 at Amazon. Small enough to fit underneath most airplane seats (and inside of overhead bins), this weekender is truly ideal for two-day trips. It’s lightweight, durable, and conveniently designed to keep your belongings well-organized and in place, and it even features a hidden shoe pocket on the side for a single pair of your favorite kicks. 

S-Zone Canvas Overnight Weekender Bag

If you’re shopping for a no-fuss bag that offers incredible packing capacity, a sturdy design, and even an expandable primary compartment, this duffel from S-Zone is sure to become your go-to choice — and it’s a whopping 50 percent off at Amazon. A canvas exterior accentuated with leather top-carry handles and other detailing creates a luxurious finish to this refined bag, while it’s the perfect size to function as a carry-on during your next flight. Rivets at the bottom of the bag add valuable reinforcements that help it stand on its own, and an adjustable and removable shoulder-carry strap is the cherry on top of this perfect weekender.

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