Taco Bell Is Opening Its Own Hotel and Holy Crap How Soon Can We Check In?

Looking for a little culture with your breakfast? For a limited time only, visitors to San Francisco can take part in a special hotel package that includes early exclusive access to Monet: The Late Years, the first exhibition in over 20 years dedicated to the final phase of the artist’s career. Book Through the Stanford Court Hotel Available to book through the Stanford Court Hotel, the Monet in the Morning package includes accommodation, two early bird tickets to the exhibition at the de Young Museum’s Herbst gallery, a Claude Monet Water Lilies eco-tote bag, and breakfast for two. Taking place every weekend in May from 8.30am to 9.30am (before the museum has officially opened to the general public), the morning event is capped at just 150, allowing for a more relaxed and intimate experience of the showcase that attracts thousands of people during regular opening hours. Monet's Late Work, in Focus Focusing on the last years of the painter’s life in Giverny, France in the early 1900s, where he produced dozens of works inspired by the landscape of his five-acre property, the exhibition brings together pieces from museums and galleries all over the world. Visitors can see variations of some of his most beautiful and well-known works, including the famous Water Lilies, Weeping Willow, Rose Garden, and The Japanese Footbridge. The exhibition includes several rooms, and after guests have viewed the works, they can take an elevator to the top of the de Young for a 360-degree view of San Francisco. “Guests can expect an illuminating experience. Monet: The Late Years features almost 50 masterpieces, and this exhibition continues to define the artist’s lasting legacy. In the final years of his prolific career, his experimental and creative energies took artistic liberties that reflected a path toward modernism. After Monet, guests have the rare opportunity to see another French master in Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey as well as the renowned permanent collection of the de Young,” Patrick Buijten, Group and Tourism Manager for de Young Museum told Lonely Planet Travel News. Get inspired to travel everyday by signing up to Lonely Planet's daily newsletter.

Thomas Jefferson, America’s founding oenophile, was onto something when he tried to plant vitis vinifera—the European grape vines of which he was so fond—in Virginia. But he wasn’t the only one to make a go of grape-growing in the United States. While today, you can find producers growing grapes and making vino in every single state of the union, there are a few that have been doing it as far back as the early 19th century. Next time you’re thirsty for a little history, pop into one of these seven wineries where they pour out the past as well as the pinot. 1. Brotherhood Winery: Washingtonville, New York Although it didn’t start labeling wines under the Brotherhood name until the 1890s, original owner, Jean Jacques, first began producing wine from vines on his duo of Hudson Valley estates in 1839. Brotherhood marks that date as its launch into the world, making it the oldest continuously operating winery in the U.S., a designation that earned it a spot on the National Register of Historical Places. Book a tour through the hand-excavated cellars—some of the largest and most elaborate in the country—to hear about all the underground secrets stashed away here. Learn more about Jacques and the second owners, the Emersons, who kept the winery alive during Prohibition via sacramental wine. Or simply sip a glass of Brotherhood bubbly on the stone patio and take in the stately old stone buildings and beauty of the Hudson Valley. 2. Wente Vineyards: Livermore, California If Brotherhood gets the nod for oldest continuously operated winery, Wente wins for being the oldest continuously operated winery owned by the same family, now in its 5th generation. Carl Heinrich Wente came to America seeking his fortune in 1880, got a job working for another vine-minded German immigrant, Charles Krug (see below), and by 1883 bought land in Livermore, establishing the Wente Bros. Winery. Like Brotherhood, the family kept the operation going with sacramental wine during Prohibition. But what you really need to know about Wente is that they make spectacular chardonnay—so good that in the early 20th century, the vineyard cultivated its own award-winning clone (that is, a vine re-created over and over from the cuttings of grapevines that have particularly alluring qualities, be they anything from hardiness to aromatics). In 1936, Wente became the first winery in the United States to put the name of a grape variety on its labels—meaning that today, when you buy a bottle of sauvignon blanc or cabernet at your local store, you have Wente to thank because before that, it was just “wine”—which is not so conducive to figuring out what goes best with your wild-caught salmon or Tomahawk steak. 3. Charles Krug, St. Helena, California (Courtesy Charles Krug) Napa Valley is famed for its highfalutin wineries (and equally nose-bleed inducing prices), but once upon a time it was just lots of land and acres upon acres of pioneering spirit. Like that of Charles Krug, a German-born newspaper man who became so entranced by California’s “purple gold” (you know, grapes) that he founded his eponymous winery here in 1861 on land from the dowry of his American wife, Carolina Bale. His much-renowned Bordeaux-inspired reds earned him an unofficial but well-deserved title, the Father of Napa Wine, and he was a marketing visionary as well, establishing the first tasting room in California wine country. Today, Charles Krug is owned by the Napa wine giant, C. Mondavi & Family, and it’s become a posh and popular stop on the Napa wine circuit. The original buildings that Charles Krug constructed are listed with the National Register of Historical Places, and well worth a visit. 4. Val Verde Winery, Del Rio, Texas (Courtesy Val Verde Winery) Frank Qualia didn’t mean to stay in Del Rio, Texas, a few miles from the border of Mexico. But in 1881, as he made his way from Milan, Italy, he happened upon a plot of land where some Lenoir grapes were growing by the San Felipe Springs-fed creek. By 1883, Qualia officially established his 14-acre Val Verde Winery, marked by its foot-deep adobe walls and strong Italian winemaking traditions. Now, some 130 years later, his original plot of land is still the site of Val Verde’s Texas-grown (they never substitute grapes from out-of-state places) winery and tasting room. Today, the spot is run by Frank’s grandson, Thomas, whose own son, Michael, has learned the trade himself, and is primed to take on the family mantel. Be sure to pay close attention to the cool photos and heirlooms, like Frank’s passport and naturalization papers, and even some old winemaking gear. (Serious wine geeks will want to pop into to the nearby Whitehead Memorial Museum to see some of Qualia’s original equipment). For a taste of the past, check out the Val Verde Sweet Red, a blend similar to the sacramental wine that got the company through Prohibition. 5. Renault Winery: Egg Harbor City, New Jersey Necessity is the mother of invention, or certainly the father of New Jersey “champagne.” Hailing from the famed Reims area of the Champagne region of France, Joseph Renault fled the storied home of bubbly in the mid-19th century after a nasty little aphid known as phylloxera wiped out almost all of Europe’s vineyards. Precious vine clippings in tow, he sought out the warm, sunny growing conditions of California, but phylloxera was there, too. Word of problem-resistant native vines on the East Coast lured him 3,000 miles back to the Garden State, where the winery he established in 1864 would go on to become the largest distributor of American sparkling wine in the country. Although it’s remained in business continuously, Renault has been bought and sold numerous times over the years, and now the winery has become a resort destination complete with a hotel, spa, 18-hole golf course, and 5-mile hiking trail through the New Jersey Pine Barrens. 6. Buena Vista, Sonoma, California (Courtesy Buena Vista) If you can make it in Sonoma, you can make it anywhere—even if you have to embellish your family's ties to aristocracy to do so. “Count” Agoston Haraszthy immigrated from Hungary in the 1840s, seeking thrills and fortune in the great American West, and though he had no real claims to royalty, his fake-it-‘til-you-make-it attitude landed him a multitude of diverse roles, among them: self-titled Count (he actually had no ties to royalty); founder of Wisconsin’s Sauk City, the state’s first official town; sheriff of San Diego; ore analyst for the U.S. Mint. He also pioneered Sonoma winemaking with the establishment of Buena Vista Winery in 1857, which quickly became one of California’s largest land-owning wineries. But grander and grander ambitions, trouble with the law, money-making schemes, and financial issues infused Haraszthy’s life in Sonoma with such turmoil, that he left (some say fled) to Nicaragua with his family in tow, apparently in search of prosperity in the rum business, before disappearing without a trace. The mark he left on Buena Vista, one of California’s most important wineries, however, endures. And what a tour it makes for. 7. Adam Puchta Winery: Hermann, Missouri Hailing from the Bavarian city of Oberkotzau, Adam Puchta was only 7-years-old when he and his family emigrated to Missouri in 1839, dreaming of fertile lands and Gold Rush riches. Fourteen years later, thanks to a stint in California, the latter helped Adam earn enough to get serious about winemaking. He returned to Missouri and bought a portion of the family’s then 80-acre farm and get serious about winemaking, establishing his namesake winery in 1855, and growing wine grapes and other crops to keep the money flowing. His kids managed to keep the winery in the black after Puchta died in 1904, but they couldn’t withstand the pressures of Prohibition, which put the Show Me State’s prolific producer out of business—but not for good. In 1990, Adam’s grandson and great-grandson re-established the Adam Putcha Winery, adding a tasting room for visitors, and realizing Puchta’s dream of becoming one of the most important wineries in Missouri. For travel inspiration, know-how, deals, and more, sign up for Budget Travel's free e-newsletter.

Fans of astronomy and beautiful night vistas have a new option for observing the Milky Way. The Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado has been officially designated as an International Dark Sky Park. It has more than 149,164 acres of dunes, wetlands, grasslands, forests and alpine tundra, which offer an array of opportunities to view the night sky and to explore the park after dark by moonlight. What Is a Dark Sky Park? The International Dark-Sky Association is a recognized authority on combating light pollution worldwide. Its designation recognizes Great Sand Dunes for the exceptional quality of its dark night skies and for the park’s commitment to preserving and educating about the night sky. It now joins three other national park sites in Colorado and approximately two dozen national parks around the U.S. that have been designated as International Dark Sky Parks. Great Sand Dunes: A Magnet for Astronomers Great Sand Dunes National Monument was established in 1932 to protect the tallest dunes in North America. In the late 1990s, it was expanded into a national park and preserved to protect the greater dunes ecosystem that was under threat at that time. It has served as an astronomy destination for decades, thanks to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which shelter the park from much of the sky glow created by Colorado’s Front Range cities. According to Great Sand Dunes superintendent Pamela Rice, the dry air, high elevation and lack of light pollution all make the park an ideal dark-sky destination. It offers a variety of night sky programs on summer weekends as well as a Junior Ranger Night Explorer program, and it will host a celebration of its new designation in late summer. Get inspired to travel everyday by signing up to Lonely Planet's daily newsletter.

If you’re looking for visitor attractions with a difference, you may be interested in a list of Europe’s most underrated attractions. Author and comedian Danny Wallace has unveiled an alternative guide to exploring Europe in collaboration with train and coach app Trainline, based on research it conducted with vacationers. It found that 45 percent of travelers now demand an “authentic experience” while on vacation, and 26 percent cited “crowds of tourists” as their biggest travel irritation. This was followed by overpriced tourist traps at 24 percent and lines (14 percent) at more popular attractions. “A lifelong fascination of the unusual, unfamiliar and obscure experiences the world has to offer means that I’ve spent the last decade writing about some of the most incredible places and people I’ve met on my travels – often on long train journeys through the breathtaking landscapes of Europe,” says Danny Wallace. Here are the top five attractions selected as the most overlooked in Europe, and to see the rest of the top 30, please visit here. 1. The David Hasselhoff Museum Topping the list, the Berlin-based shrine dedicated to the life and works of “The Hoff” can be found in the basement of the Circus Hostel. A true project of passion, it pays homage to the cult star, courtesy of rare multilingual memorabilia and a wall mural of the man himself. It once sported “strokable” chest hair that has since been stolen by overzealous fans, and Hasselhoff himself paid a visit there in 2017. 2. Floating Cat Sanctuary The world’s only floating animal sanctuary is a refuge for Amsterdam’s stray and abandoned cats. With the chance to admire and play with hundreds of cute, sometimes grumpy and often feisty felines, the modern sanctuary was originally the home of the capital’s famous “cat lady,” Mrs. v. Weelde. 3. Mini Europe A one-of-a-kind shrunken wonderland located on the outskirts of Brussels. Mini Europe offers a Lilliputian view of over 350 miniatures. These represent iconic, important and culturally relevant landmarks across the continent. 4. Subterranean Art Gallery Sometimes referred to as “the world’s longest art gallery,” more than 90 stations in Stockholm that span the underground transport network form part of the Subterranean Art Gallery. They feature an awe-inspiring array of paintings, installations and sculptures. With the subterranean rockface acting as a canvas, this hidden gem offers a truly breathtaking experience beneath the city. 5. Museum of Alchemists and Magicians In a city brimming with history, the Museum of Alchemists and Magicians in Prague brings to light the darker side of the Czech capital’s fantastical past. Featuring genuine artifacts and antiquities from alchemists and magicians past, you can enter the world of some of the most famous dabblers in the dark arts.Get inspired to travel everyday by signing up to Lonely Planet’s daily newsletter.