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(CNN) — Summer solstice is almost here, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
CNN Travel is here with ideas on how best to spend those daylight hours, from America’s most stunning train journeys and finest restaurants to the attractions and theme parks named the greatest for 2022.
Crossing continents
This is the year for making epic travel plans.
Scottish adventurer Louis Hall is on a 2,800-kilometer-long (1,740-mile-long) journey across Europe from Italy to Spain, and it’s all on horseback. (Big up to Sasha, his current equine companion).
And last month, Nigerian Kunle Adeyanju completed a 41-day motorcycle ride from London to Lagos to raise money for the eradication of polio in Africa.
And to find out which sites and experiences other travelers are loving the most, take a look at Tripadvisor’s top attractions for 2022. A Spanish landmark has been named the best in the world — and they haven’t even finished building it yet.
North America’s finest
Attaboy’s cocktails have been delighting Manhattanites for a decade.
Attaboy
But for America’s most exciting cocktail scene, head to Mexico City. The Mexican capital has three bars in the list’s top 10: Handshake Speakeasy, hidden behind a cigar shop in Colonia Juarez (No. 2); local craft cocktail trailblazer Licorería Limantour (No.3); and Baltra Bar, renowned for its Tuesday martini nights (No. 7).
The food scene has just brightened up in the Sunshine State, with the Michelin guide coming to Florida for the first time. A total of 15 restaurants have been awarded those coveted stars — L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Miami even got two.
Airplane cabins of the future
CNN Travel’s Francesca Street visited the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany, this week and was the first journalist to try out a new double-decker airplane seat prototype, which has since gone viral.
The provocative design has prompted lots of comment, positive and negative (they’re already describing it on Reddit as the “human centipede” of travel). We found it comfy with plenty of legroom, but more than a little claustrophobic.
The seat was a nominee last year at the Crystal Cabin Awards, which honor the most innovative and creative new aircraft interior concepts. The 2022 winners include “floating” cabin furniture and seats that come with their own personal fridge.
What’s new in Italy
The Amalfi Coast is one of the world’s most glamorous road trip destinations, but its popularity has led to huge traffic jams in peak season. Authorities are now limiting tourist access by introducing an innovative new entry system based on license plates.
The United States has lifted its Covid testing rule for inbound travelers just as the already chaotic summer season really heats up. Experts predict Europe will soon be “inundated with American travelers.”
One extreme way to get a bit of space to yourself in the Bel Paese is simply to buy your own Italian village. That’s what Scottish businessman Cesidio Di Ciacca did, taking over the hamlet historically named after his family.
40 years in nine photos
A group of five friends has staged the same photo at the same California lake every five years for the past four decades. Despite one man’s recent cancer scare, this week they captured the 2022 shot. Here’s their story.
In case you missed it
It was once the world’s largest floating restaurant and hosted everyone from Bruce Lee to Queen Elizabeth II.
In Sweden, the garbage cans now trash-talk you.
Hip to be square
If only everything in life was such a simple, streamlined force for good as the packing cube. Our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have selected 22 of the best travel packing cubes around so your suitcase can be so deliciously organized you’ll want to Instagram it.
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