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National Geographic’s ‘Best Of The World’ With Antoni Porowski: Enjoyable TV

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“I’m on a quest to find the best,” enthuses Antoni Porowski: actor, TV persona, meals skilled, journey lover, Emmy-winning producer and New York Times bestselling creator with 3.8 million followers on Instagram alone. His new feel-good journey collection (see trailer, beneath)—Best of the World with Antoni Porowski—has roots seeded by National Geographic’s long-running Best of the World lists, a powerful output of books, articles, movies and docuseries that yearly applauds “the most exciting, meaningful and forward-thinking destinations, experiences and travel trends across the globe” per its mantra. That’s excellent news for you—whether or not you’re actively brainstorming your subsequent vacay or fantasizing through armchair-traveler-style. Four episodes characteristic Paris, Mexico City, New York City and London. Its first two episodes (Paris and Mexico City) premiere on National Geographic June 7 at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT (verify native listings for PT); the second two episodes (New York City and London) premiere June 15. For subscribers to Disney+ and Hulu, all episodes stream June 8. “Exploring these cities alongside the people who call them home reminds me that what makes a place special isn’t just what you see, but whom you meet and the stories you’re invited into,” says Porowski, a Canadian citizen born in Montreal; he spent a bit of his childhood in West Virginia and now lives in Manhattan. “Travel has always been my way of understanding the world—and myself,” explains the fluently trilingual (with French and Polish) host who delivers a moveable feast of sightseeing. Anticipate shocking options: how you can spend nights, stroll days, quench thirsts, heighten tastes, stretch creativeness, problem limits, dip into water, race round corners, rouse spirits and encourage reflection. (This is Porowski’s second team-effort with National Geographic; his No Taste Like Home collection garnered notable reward final yr.) Bonus: To additional amplify Best of the World with Antoni Porowski and promote this travelogue’s accessibility to a fair wider viewers, National Geographic additionally launches a YouTube channel June 9 with native creatives in every locale, who, with Porowski, will illuminate their better of bests. Here, a sampling of photographs and concepts from the TV present so as to add further surprise to your wanderlust.

Best of the World: Paris

Porowski overlooks the Seine River in Paris.

“The city of light, city of love and city of 50-million tourists all chasing the same postcard views,” exclaims Porowski. “But trust me. That’s just the highlight reel. Paris has layers. This city is carved into 20 districts, arrondissements…spiraling out from the polished and proper to the creative and even a little edgy. I’ve handpicked experiences that get straight to its chic, messy, romantic soul, starting right in the center where Paris likes to show off with the hotel that overlooks the Place de la Concorde.” Porowski is extolling, after all, Hôtel de Crillon—a Rosewood Hotel, which is phenomenal even amongst Paris’s extraordinary five-star lodging, the place service is an artwork kind. History is woven into the Crillon’s raison d’etre: It was commissioned in 1758 as a residence for King Louis XV. Today, Crillon’s decor consists of 18th-century frescoes, 40 kinds of marble and 73 chandeliers. Sumptuousness ensues all through the Crillon expertise, within the eating places, bars, afternoon tea, spa and pool. Heads of state, Hollywood royalty, heady biz-whizzes, posh pursuers and influential entertainers (sure, Taylor Swift) have chosen the Crillon.

On the terrace of Hôtel de Crillon, Porowski talks with head butler Elsa Chabaud, who leads the 24/7 private butler staff.

“After dark, Paris has no shortage of bars and clubs, but I like my nightlife with a bit of old-school glamour, which in this town means only one place,” thrills Porowski, referring to the Moulin Rouge cabaret. “For years, this neighborhood wore its rough-and-rebellious edge proudly; today it is still bold—just dressed a little better…. Step inside the Moulin Rouge and you’re instantly transported. Its iconic windmill first lit up in 1889. Back then, it was where the rich rubbed shoulders with the bohemians of Montmartre, a place where rules were bent and where the can-can was born.”

Moulin Rouge performer Cyrielle Vie takes Porowski backstage to see extravagant costumes.

“The Left Bank, which for centuries has been home to artists, writers, rebels and the Sorbonne [University], is a place where ideas matter,” says Porowski. “In this intellectual heart of the city is a small shop with a big reputation: Fromagerie Quatrehomme—with over 250 varieties of cheese.” As a four-generation household enterprise for greater than 70 years, it provides to a few of Paris’s high eating places. Now led by siblings Nathalie and Maxime Quatrehomme, this mouth-watering marvel was opened by their grandparents. Their mom produced cheese so exceptional that she was the primary girl awarded the distinguished title Meilleur Ouvrier de France—the Best Craftsperson in France. “Basically, the Beyoncé of cheese!” provides Porowski. “This is what Paris does best: It treats food with reverence, craft like a calling.”

With cheese-whisperer Nathalie Quatrehomme, Porowski will get a peek contained in the cool cellar the place her artisanal merchandise are aged.

“France didn’t just invent fine-dining, it perfected it,” says Porowski. And Paris—with 127 Michelin-starred eating places—is “the mothership,” he proclaims. A prized advice? “The 11th arrondissement has one of the best bar scenes in Paris and a raw energy all of its own, but the real reason you should come here? The food.” At Michelin-starred restaurant FIEF (Fait Ici En France, Made Here in France), chef Victor Mercier is passionate a couple of hard-line rule: If it doesn’t develop in French soil, it doesn’t hit the plate. Does that purview restrict the chef? “No coffee, no chocolate is a big thing,” Mercier admits, “but I was like, limitation is the source of creativity.”

Victor Mercier, chef and proprietor of FIEF restaurant, explains his bold dishes to Porowski.

Best of the World: Mexico City

“This is unreal,” says Porowski, who paddles by canals of Xochimilco, which date to the Aztec period, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“I’m standing on the balcony of a castle centuries-old, surrounded by skyscrapers—and it’s endless. I mean look at this place! Mexico City, let’s go!” Porowski’s pleasure is palpable, an eye-opening foray by an city expanse filled with prospects. Founded greater than 700 years in the past, now almost 23-million residents dwell within the Greater Mexico City’s space, constructed on what as soon as was the capital of the Aztec empire. It is probably the most populous metropolitan unfold in North America.

Porowski at Nido de Quetzalcoatl, a surprising nature-intensive, colourful and eccentric dream-scape of apartment residences and trip leases.

“Mexico City is an architecture geek’s dream, so I’m in heaven,” remarks Porowski. To expertise a gentler aspect of Mexico City, he heads to the outskirts: Paseos del Bosque (Walks In the Woods), a quiet residential suburb with a constructing of eight privately owned residences and two trip leases “set within 50 acres of forest with a botanical garden and community greenhouse. [Nido de Quetzalcoatl] is designed to look like a snake slithering through the trees…a masterclass of organic architecture,” he explains. “I’ve never seen anything that can compare to this…. It is very calming.”

Bringing artwork to the streets: Porowski revels within the merrymaking on the Alebrije Parade in Mexico City.

“Mexico loves a party,” says Porowski. “This place is famous for its fiestas and parades.” Each October, the Alebrije Parade is a colossal show of folks artwork and nationwide delight. It stars fantastical creatures, every one a mix of various animals. Papier-mâché sculptures are hand-painted and switch Mexico City right into a residing artwork gallery.”

Sweet and savory stuff: Porowski and chef Elena Reygadas Castillo within the kitchen at Rosetta.

“Panadería Rosetta is bread-and-pastry nirvana,” swoons Porowski. Owner and chef Elena Reygadas Castillo’s signature bakery delicacy is a buttery guava roll, devised in an excellent swirl. She can also be proprietor of a number of different Mexico City eateries: Michelin-starred Rosetta, Salón Rosetta, Bella Aurora and Lardo. Reygadas was named the World’s Best Female Chef by 50 World’s Best Restaurants in 2023. Her newest kitchen success? Re-envisioning tamales, the final word consolation meals. “I really like making humble food luxurious,” she says. “It feels beautiful when something that you love, other people love. I think the most beautiful thing about cooking is to share.”

The Campechano Taco, made with an heirloom corn tortilla, at restaurant Maizajo.

Approximately 30 million tacos are eaten every day in Mexico City, says Porowski. “There is basically a taqueria on every corner, but not all taquerias are created equal. In lush Condesa, a fashionable neighborhood…there’s a totally chill bohemian kind of vibe and a spot that is bringing the tortilla back to its former glory: Maizajo. Chef Santiago Muñoz Moctezuma…is all about making them the traditional way. These days, most are made from highly processed industrial corn flour. It’s quick, but it lacks soul.” At Maizajo, solely native heirloom corn is used, chosen from small farms and processed because the chef’s ancestors would have accomplished for hundreds of years.

Best of the World: New York City

With his canine Neon, Porowski is on the luxurious glamping grounds of Collective Retreats on New York City’s Governor’s Island.

“Downtown New York is one of my happiest places in the world,” muses Porowski. “I arrived almost 15 years ago, bright eyed and ready to explore. It’s the city that never sleeps, always surprises…. Eight hundred languages are spoken here—a metropolis that has been shaped by generations of immigrants…. It feels like anything can happen. The diversity is what makes it unique.”

Porowski prepares dumplings with govt chef Rafal Maslankiewicz and proprietor Dan Soha at Ikigai in Brooklyn.

New York City has roughly 28,000 eating places. “It’s kind of impossible to pick the best dining experience in New York,” says Porowski. Because he appreciates progressive meals, Porowski heads throughout the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood to a Japanese fine-dining hideaway, Ikigai, which serves a tasting menu combining chef Rafal Maslankiewicz’s Polish heritage together with his coaching below legendary chef Masa Takayama. A uncommon culinary fusion. (Porowski additionally has Polish ancestry; his dad and mom immigrated to Canada earlier than he was born.) This 12-seat, kaiseki-sparked gem is a non-profit with a philanthropic-driven mission. “Ikigai has no investors, lenders nor landlords,” says proprietor Dan Soha. “I own the physical space outright. We don’t have a mortgage. I manage the business and don’t take a salary. All of the money that would otherwise go to management, rent, loans and investors is directed to an organization called Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC). RLC redistributes excess food to people experiencing food insecurity. Ikigai is a Japanese word that most closely means ‘a reason for being’ or ‘a purpose in life.’ Opening this restaurant has been a 15-year-long dream of mine after retiring two years ago from the tech industry. Opening this restaurant and having my first child a few months later gives me that purpose.”

Porowski tastes the Custard Bun mocktail at Manhattan’s Double Chicken Please.

“The city that never sleeps has no shortage of bars,” says Porowski. “In Manhattan, just skirting Chinatown, there is one that has been named best bar in North America and you don’t win that title by playing it safe.” Double Chicken Please was co-founded by GN Chan and Faye Chen, who after transferring to the United States from Taiwan, “set out on the road experimenting and selling cocktails from their camper van,” explains Porowski. “They earned a reputation for their reimagining of iconic dishes in liquid form: Think Japanese cold noodle gravy and Key Lime Pie in a glass. In 2020, they made the huge leap to opening a bar in Manhattan and now they have lines out the door.”

At New York City’s 54th Marathon, Porowski chats with Janelle Hartman, whose volunteer efforts with New York Road Runners are storied.

The New York City 26.2-mile marathon is an annual occasion that brings your entire metropolitan space collectively like nothing else. Its most up-to-date 54th run was record-breaking, the largest marathon in historical past, with 132 international locations represented, 59,226 finishers and by far the best variety of spectators in each neighborhood who supported and cheered runners on a route that races by all 5 boroughs. “I have questions,” initially ponders Porowski. “Why do people run? Why do people watch people run? Why does the whole city come to a standstill for an event that to my eyes is all about pain and suffering? I need answers!” He finds them aplenty, exhilarated: “I have like permanent chills. It’s a revelation to me that you don’t have to run the marathon to feel like you’re part of it or to feel so connected to the city…a sense of pride and joy.”

Porowski relaxes in one of many playful rooms at QC Spa New York on Governor’s Island.

Old navy barracks on Governor’s Island have been remodeled into the QC Spa New York, the one outside vacation spot spa within the metropolis that’s open year-round. (Eleven QC Spas are situated all through Europe, a wellness conception of Italian brothers Saverio and Andrea Quadrio Curzio.) There are themed sensory-exploration rooms, resembling an upside-down motif harking back to a Salvador Dali fever dream (picture, above). “Delightfully weird,” says Porowski. Massage rooms, salt room, lavender room, ice room. Saunas and steam baths. Vichy showers. Regenerative foot baths. Infrared beds. Waterbeds. Bistro and bar. “Whatever your relaxation jam, I’m pretty sure you’ll find it here. For me, this is the winner: outdoor heated pools and the Manhattan skyline by night. I mean, come on, this might be the single most unique place I have ever been.”

Best of the World: London

Perched on The Shard—a mixed-use constructing that soars 1,016 toes excessive—Porowski gazes at London.

When it involves epochal, monumental sightseeing, “London doesn’t mess around. Buckingham Palace, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London,” factors out Porowski. Yet this impactful, future-driven metropolis “refuses to sit still…. I’m here to meet people that make this city, this living breathing thing, that is constantly evolving. There’s nowhere quite like London’s 2,000 years of history, community and culture. It’s still the coolest kid in class. Does it ever get old? No. London—a hot mix of young and old, grit and gloss…. Six-hundred square miles, 32 distinct boroughs, split in two by the River Thames.”

Porowski greets Big Ben custodian-and-clock-mechanic Andrew Strangeway for a private tour of its internal workings.

“London’s original TikTok experience is calling,” pronounces Porowski. In central London, Big Ben (the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster) has actually stood the take a look at of time, put in in 1859, when this horological masterpiece was accomplished. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, “it has marked some of Britain’s defining moments—from coronations to Millennium celebrations…. I’m a total timepiece nerd, so I’m meeting the man who keeps it running like, well, I guess like clockwork!” Currently that timekeeper job belongs to Andrew Strangeway, who can also be a mathematician and clockmaker. The climb from floor degree to the belfry is 336 steps. The 4 dials of the clock’s face are every nearly 23 toes in diameter. The pendulum is sort of 15-feet-long. “This feels like a classic grandfather clock, except on steroids!” exclaims Porowski. Yes, public excursions can be found.

The Palm House at Kew Gardens in London.

Kew Gardens, which started in 1759 as a retreat for the royal household, now encompasses probably the most biodiverse assortment on the planet, with 17,000 distinctive plant species, some specimens of which had been gathered, because the 1700s, by British explorers and adventurers roaming the globe. “It’s crazy to think that there is more plant life represented here than in the Amazon,” says Porowski. Today, this 300-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site is a haven for scientific studying in addition to magnificence, open to guests. Botanist Brie Langley guides Porowski amid resplendent greenery and provides him a close-up take a look at an enormous waterlily named after Queen Victoria.

Inside The Shard, Porowski gazes at London from a 2,500-square-foot Shangri-La Hotel suite with 180-degree views.

The swanky, glamour-in-the-sky Shangri-La Hotel occupies 18 flooring of The Shard, an architectural feat and Western Europe’s tallest constructing. General Manager Kurt Macher navigates Porowski’s keep. “Starting on level 34, the hotel boasts the highest bar, the highest infinity pool, and, well, pretty much the highest anything in London,” says Porowski. “Always something different to see,” factors out Macher, “I’ve been here six years, but if you look over now the city has so many new buildings. London is ever changing.” The older London will get, the youthful it seems, Porowski notices: “I’ll have some of whatever London is having!”

Sunday roast at The Tamil Crown in London is predicated on South Indian Thali.

“The soul of a city lies in its food,” says Porowski. “Home to nearly 300 ethnicities and nationalities, London is basically the world on a plate. But on Sundays, one dish rules them all: The Roast. You need the crispy potatoes, the meat has to be juicy, the carrots sweet, the Yorkshire pudding has to have that right amount of height and the cheesy cauliflower. Thought to have originally been served after Sunday church in Medieval times, Brits have been eating it much the same way for over 500 years. Now that is commitment. But one pub didn’t get the memo and its Sunday roast rips up the rulebook.” In the borough of Islington, associates Glen Leeson and chef Prince Durairaj opened The Tamil Crown three years in the past. Their model has been promoting out tables week after week after week. “We’ve taken the roast dinner that has loads of different elements, kind of mash them together so you get this roast feel, but it is actually really authentic Indian,” explains Leeson. “I think our idea to create this Indian roast is probably a bit controversial, but rewarding.” Confirms Porowski: “This is a beautiful representation of cultures. At the end of the day, it’s food. But it’s also a history of the people. It actually makes me emotional to think about crying over a Sunday roast.”

For different latest journey articles by Laura Manske: Stanley Tucci’s Delicious New Italy Travel Show: Season 2 Starts Now and Discover Delicious Travel Surprises In 5 Fabulous European Destinations.

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