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Before writer Besha Rodell set out on her journey to select the 2020 list of the World’s Best Restaurants, we here at Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine solicited nominations from a team of esteemed chefs, food journalists, and travel experts — our culinary panel — along with our own editorial teams and honorees from last year’s list. We asked these pros to consider the restaurants that feel the most singular, the places that best capture the energy and spirit of their locations....

Why stay at a hotel when you can just own one instead? The owners of the historic Bethungra Shirley Hotel near Cootamundra, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, are giving away their property to the best applicant with a vision for the place’s future. All it will cost is an application fee of A$100 (about $73 USD). Robyn and Allan Cox, current owners of the hotel, originally bought the place for A$470,000 (about $341,000 USD) in 2014 and are now deciding to move away, according to Lonely Planet....

On Oct. 1, 1971, Walt Disney World Resort welcomed guests to “The Most Magical Place on Earth” for the first time; 50 years later, “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” commemorates the decades of memories and ushers in a future of continued excitement with a spectacular combination of Disney nostalgia and new, over-the-top experiences. For five decades, millions of guests have visited the theme park resort to ride iconic attractions, see their favorite characters, and feel that unparalleled Disney magic....

It’s no wonder Yellowstone became the country’s first national park in 1872 — the colorful hot springs and geysers are otherworldly, plus it’s one of the few places where you’ll find grizzly bears and wolves roaming alongside bison and moose. It’s the sort of destination that doesn’t just feel wild — it is wild. An active supervolcano sits beneath your feet, herds of bison stop traffic, and every so often, water shoots hundreds of feet into the sky....

This year’s World’s Best Awards survey closed on March 2, just before widespread stay-at-home orders were implemented as a result of COVID-19. The results reflect our readers’ experiences before the pandemic, but we hope that this year’s honorees will inspire your trips to come — whenever they may be. The resort landscape in Asia is as vast as the continent itself, and this year’s list of the best demonstrates exactly just how much travelers have to choose from in this part of the world....

We’ve covered plenty of comfortable shoes here at Travel + Leisure, including ones that you can wear around the house, like slides and slippers. But perhaps none have been as stylish as these faux fur slides from Birdies, a brand that T+L readers love for their comfortable, on-trend shoes, including washable flats and leather sneakers. For the upcoming fall and winter months, you’re going to want to check out this pair of cozy, fluffy slides that will keep your feet warm all season long....

Two states have made their way back onto Chicago’s orange list, which requires travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their visit or quarantine for 10 days on arrival to the Windy City. Missouri and Arkansas landed on the list because of rising COVID-19 infection rates that recently pushed both states above the threshold for unrestricted visits set by the city earlier in the pandemic, Chicago officials said in announcing the change....

If you’ve found yourself around Ascot, a town an hour outside of London, then you may be on the hunt for one of the following: horses, polo matches, or some time spent far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Coworth Park, a five-star Dorchester Collection hotel, can provide all three. Courtesy of Coworth Park While it’s been well over a decade since Coworth Park opened its doors, the hotel continues to expand and find new ways to cater to its guests....

There’s nothing quite like riding a train across Europe, falling asleep in one country only to wake up in another. It’s an experience that’s gotten harder to find over the years as discount airlines have risen in popularity, but things are about to change. National rail operators in Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland are joining forces to launch several new overnight train routes that will link 13 popular European destinations, Reuters reported....

After a year of staying home we now truly understand the value of our personal space. Making our living rooms uniquely ours is one way we can feel in control in a still very chaotic world. Luckily, places like Lowe’s are here to help you curate a space you’d be happy to spend at least a few more months in. In May, the home improvement store introduced “Lowe’s House of Curators,” a series of bespoke décor curations created by tastemakers to “uncover covetable style at uncompromising value — all available every day at Lowe’s....

If anyone deserves a good vacation this summer, it’s teachers — but it can be difficult to afford a true getaway on a teacher’s salary. If Disney World is on the possible vacation list for a teacher you know, many resorts at Disney Springs are offering deals just for teachers. Seven Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels in the Walt Disney World Resort are offering “Teacher Appreciation Rates” for all teachers and school support staff this summer, Travel Pulse reported....

Hong Kong Disneyland will once again reopen on Sept. 25 after its initial reopening was halted due to a spike in COVID-19 cases, according to the park. The plan to once again welcome visitors to marvel at the Castle of Magical Dreams as it’s completed and ride Cinderella’s Carousel comes with a long list of health protocols in place, including mandatory masks, temperature checks, capacity limits with an online reservation system, and increasing the “frequency of cleaning and disinfection in all high-guest contact areas....

For U.S. travelers fantasizing about a vacation in Portugal, it might be some time before that dream becomes a reality, as the country remains off-limits to Americans seeking nonessential travel. But what I can tell you is that Portugal seems to have a head start for if and when that time comes. I can say this from experience as I witnessed firsthand how public health and safety policies are being implemented — not only for the well-being of travelers, but also for hospitality workers and locals....

Editor’s Note: Those who choose to travel are strongly encouraged to check local government restrictions, rules, and safety measures related to COVID-19 and take personal comfort levels and health conditions into consideration before departure. Life has certainly been different over the past year, but among the constants — in terms of travel — have been road trips and golf, mainly for their inherent qualities of maintaining social distance while getting out for fresh air and a change of scenery....

Now’s your chance to tour the ocean deep on an 11-day VIP trip to the Maldives — as long as you have the right bid. Kensington Tours, a customized private travel company, is working with Nekton, not-for-profit research foundation, to auction off an 11-day VIP trip aboard a state-of-the-art submersible undersea explorer into the Maldives’ Midnight Zone. Nekton’s mission, First Descent: Midnight Zone, is a project for scientists to descend into uncharted waters in order to study new species, biodiversity, and protect the world’s oceans....

Final boarding call from New York’s JFK Airport to Reykjavik, Iceland. If you miss the experience of sitting on a six-hour flight in coach, then the forthcoming video game Airplane Mode is for you. The simulation game puts you in a window seat (sorry, team aisle seat) for the actual length of the transatlantic flight. “Airplane Mode’s gameplay explores the airline travel experience down to every last detail — from the design of your seat and the seatback in front of you, to the contents of your carry-on bag and smartphone hard drive, to the behaviors of cabin crew and other passengers,” the description on gaming platform Steam reads....

MSC Cruises is calling on artists all over the world to help turn its newest ship into a masterpiece with a new design contest, the company shared with Travel + Leisure. The contest, which is open for eight weeks, tasks creative artists with designing a marine ecosystem-inspired piece of art for the hull of MSC’s newest ship, the MSC Euribia. The ship, which will come into service in 2023, will be the company’s most environmentally advanced ship....

Whether he’s training for Olympic gold or keeping up with three boys under five, Michael Phelps has made his sleep and recovery routine a priority — even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Celebrating National Sleep Awareness Month, the elite swimmer got to talking with Travel + Leisure about his partnership with mattress company Molecule and the importance of catching some Zs both as an athlete and as a dad — and surprisingly enough, the two are pretty similar....

What makes a place green? Well, that depends on how you define it. For some countries, like Indonesia, it’s all about building a school with sustainable natural materials and implementing more than 100 solar panels. In the Kreuzberg neighborhood of Berlin, it means creating a dazzling garden on areas leased from the city. Then, there are the great American cities like Denver, where Mayor Michael Hancock made it his mission to do what he can to fight climate change....

The Old Farmers’ Almanac is finally ready to give everyone its prediction for winter 2020-21. And it turns out, this winter may not be as bleak as you’d think. According to the famed weather-predicting booklet, this winter will be a rather mild one for much of the United States due to low solar activity. “Although low levels of solar activity have historically been associated with cooler temperatures, on average, across Earth, we believe that rising temperature trends mean that the winter will not be extremely cold,” the Almanac explained....