The best places to travel this fall

Friendly, welcoming, and primarily English-speaking, the Philippines offer a unique mix of indigenous and European cultures in Southeast Asia. Beyond the frenetic bustle of Manila, more than 7,000 islands offer an endless variety of beach experiences, from commercial resorts to remote, private-island retreats. Soft, white-sand beaches and excellent diving sites bring tourists from around the world to the region's resorts.

This year, Germany commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law), the 1516 legislation that dictated how Bavarian beer could be made, thus ensuring its exceptional quality in perpetuity. Accordingly, Munich, the state’s capital, will host a more-festive-than-usual Oktoberfest (September 17–October 3) that will certainly draw larger-than-normal crowds. Beyond the beer steins, Munich charms visitors with its elaborate gardens, outstanding museums (including the new Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism), and ornate palaces.

This vibrant South American nation is so much more than a gateway to the Galápagos. The Galápagos Islands may be on everyone’s travel bucket list, but it’s time for travelers to take a closer look at the rest of the country. Ecuador is small enough that visitors can go whale-watching, hiking, and museum-hopping all in one trip. Quito—the highest capital city in the world, at 9,350 feet, and the first city to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1978—is home to 500-year-old plazas, one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, and exotic New Andean cuisine.

The North Loop of Minneapolis, which spreads out along the Mississippi River within the city’s Warehouse Historic District, has recently shed its industrial past and transformed itself into a thriving hub of art, culture, and culinary innovation. Like Berlin, Brooklyn, or New Orleans’s Bywater District, this Twin Cities enclave has witnessed a slow but steady rebirth, as artists and business owners have moved into once-derelict warehouses and set up shop, restoring lofts and opening stylish boutiques and farm-to-table restaurants such as James Beard Award–nominated The Bachelor Farmer.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates offers luxury, adventure, and, soon, three major cultural institutions. This opulent city on the Persian Gulf is on the cusp of becoming the Middle East's fine-arts darling, with the Louvre Abu Dhabi opening in late 2016, in a striking building designed by Jean Nouvel, and the new Guggenheim, the largest in the world, set to open in early 2017. And then there’s Abu Dhabi’s natural beauty, which has long enticed travelers: It’s only a stone’s throw from the epic Empty Quarter, the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, where adventurous types can try sports like dune bashing and sand boarding. Source businessinsider