How many of our 50 destinations for 2015 did you manage? It's not too late to squeeze in another trip before Christmas...
Hong Kong
32 of 50
Photo: Philipp Engelhorn
Hong Kong can be quick to bulldoze over the past. But in a refreshing exception, a 1950s-era complex of police dorms in trendy Soho has been restored and reborn as PMQ, a mix of pop-up shops, galleries showcasing emerging local artists, a cooking school, and restaurants like Aberdeen Street Social, a gastropub from Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton. The 19th-centuryCentral Police Station, facing antiques-lined Hollywood Road, is following suit, slated to open in late 2015 or early 2016 as a cultural events space. Art Basel Hong Kong, the scene-y fair’s newest outpost, will return for the third year in 2015 and includeM+, an in-the-works museum of visual culture—part of the West Kowloon Cultural District development—that has already begun to host arts programs. In Wong Chuk Hang, off the beaten tourist path, Ovolo Southside has opened in a former warehouse; its 162 rooms retain exposed-ceiling pipes and steel while huge windows reveal the island’s lush peaks. Art plays a big role here too, with murals and graphics by street artists. And it’s easier than ever to experience what’s doing in Hong Kong thanks to the 2014 introduction of nonstop daily service on Cathay from Newark and on American from Dallas/Fort Worth; look for Cathay to add nonstop flights from Boston’s Logan in May 2015. —Kate Appleton
