(CNN) — This week in travel: There’s a new global cocktail capital, some fat bears are porking up as much as possible before hibernation season, and CNN gets a look inside one of the world’s most famous clocks.
Bottoms up
For the first time in the history of the World’s 50 Best Bars list, the No. 1 designation has not gone to a spot in New York City or London.
As if that wasn’t enough, three of the top 10 bars in the world are in Barcelona, creating a new world cocktail capital.
Planning a trip to the city that will put the “bar” in Barcelona?
Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi’s celebrated Barcelona church has been 135 years in the making — and it’s not finished yet
From A to Zzzzzz
Travel is often associated with not sleeping, or at least not sleeping well. The jet lag, time changes and attempts to nap while sitting upright in an airplane seat all make for a not-so-ideal sleep scenario.
But what if that could all change?
A growing number of hotels are going beyond comfy beds and expensive linens in the pursuit of giving their guests the best night’s sleep ever. On offer: soundproofing, pillow menus, aromatherapy, weighted blankets and more.
Turkish delight
On Turkey’s west coast, looking out over the Aegean, Izmir is believed to have begun life as Smyrna, built by Alexander the Great.
Over the years, it has seen ups (the heyday of the Silk Road trading route) and downs (a catastrophic fire and damage during the country’s war for independence in the early 1920s), but it’s still a city on the move.
Tasting the world
Bearly tolerable
Katmai National Park in Alaska is running its annual Fat Bear Week, a March Madness-style competition where you can vote for the bear you think best exemplifies fatness. Check out some of the top contenders.
Winter is coming — not only in fictional Westeros, but in Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, where brown bears are chunking up ahead of their winter hibernation season.
As bears can lose as much as one-third of their body weight during hibernation, it’s critical for them to put on as much pudge as possible once the weather starts cooling off.
In case you missed it
A tourist at the Vatican broke two ancient statues.
Kusama’s famous yellow pumpkin sculpture is back on Naoshima island.
Suffering from climate anxiety?
What a dream
If you can’t make it to Portugal to try out a sleep-centric hotel, why not get the next best thing in your own home?
Top image: Singapore Changi Airport’s expansion plans are seen in a rendering (Changi Airport Group).
