So, you know you want to go on holiday somewhere, but spinning a globe and pointing feels a little too cliched. Not to mention – who has an actual physical globe in the era of Google Maps?
How then does an intrepid explorer choose the destination that will provide the best mix of custom experiences for their unique personality traits? As with all major decisions, the choice can be helpfully informed with the help of star signs.
Like people, cities and countries have star signs. New York City, for example, is a classic Leo: loud, demanding, and iconic. She’s a fire sign who enjoys attention and is impressive enough that eyes are on her for a good reason.
It can be a little tricky to find an exact date and time of birth for a city, but there are a rough principles that one can use. Generally, a locational astrologer will find the date of legal incorporation and take a default “birth” time of noon, plugging these in to find a natal chart in much the same way you discreetly do on a first date. (Look, nobody ever claimed this was an exact science.)
For the purpose of our recommendations, we’ve taken a macro view using general sun signs (ie, what you’d look up in the newspaper) and have suggested a compatible holiday destination. As with most advice to do with star signs, do take it with a grain of salt, or one of those blocks that cows lick.
While it’s honestly somewhat amazing that a Capricorn is reading this and not mainlining coffee and hustling through at least four different personal and professional projects, since you’re here, we recommend a well-deserved holiday in the Piscean country of Portugal.
One of the good, solid earth star signs, Capricorns have a reputation for being workaholics, often overextending themselves to the point of burn out.
For that reason, the mutable water sign Portugal may be just what the doctor ordered. You’re as likely to find yourself sinking white wine from a chilled earthenware jug as you are hopping off a tram in Lisbon and into a boutique to have a half hour conversation with a quirky designer.
Let this dreamy, slightly left-of-centre holiday destination rub off on you – check your emails later.
Aquarius
Travel to Copenhagen, a Libra city
Anecdotally, we’ve found you Aquarians to be kind of an odd bunch. You tread your own path, and there often isn’t an obvious consistency in personality traits amongst the Aquarians in the room.
As you appreciate authenticity and fairness, the charming Libran city of Copenhagen should be at the top of your bucket list. Like Librans, Copenhagen is charming, peaceful, and graced with ample intellectual and cultural pursuits for your perusal.
An idealistic Aquarian view of the world will appreciate the egalitarian nature of Copenhagen, which frequently ranks among the world’s cities with the highest quality of living. Ride a bike downtown and enjoy the exemplary urban planning… you weirdo.
Pisces
Travel to Los Angeles, a Virgo city
Given you’re all water babies through and through, an ideal Piscean holiday would be to the Virgo city of Los Angeles. Opposite star signs (Virgo is a fixed earth sign and Pisces is mutable water), the grounded and practical nature of the Virgo is an ideal foil to the dreamy and romantic Pisces.
With more beaches and world-class museums like LACMA and The Broad than there’s time for, a Piscean will enjoy the ability to reset and re-centre. Though, those dreamy fish folk will inevitably get lost.
After a long day of hikes and surfing, the Virgoan city can match the Piscean compulsion for impulsive adventure, being home to some of the best bars and parties in the country.
Aries
Travel to New Orleans, a Scorpio city
Ahh, the beautiful and headstrong ram. Much like in selecting a partner, when choosing a potential holiday destination, you do not want to be bored. Aries are typically the most adventurous and upbeat of the star signs: you lot know what you want.
You also make great leaders on a holiday: you’ve done the research and know exactly which specialty coffee spot you’re getting your cold brew from in the morning.
#Aries can't stand it when people change their mind. You gotta stand for something.
To that end, an Aries could easily fall in love the Scorpio city of New Orleans. Scorpio is arguably the most intense of the water signs, and the vibrancy and excitement of New Orleans is well-documented.
In New Orleans, you’ll find enough fresh warm beignets, authentic southern BBQ and other culinary treats to satisfy your taste for the finer and more indulgent things in life, as well as a hectic nightlife that will stand up to your high expectations of A Very Good Time.
Taurus
Travel to Paris, a Virgo city
Living and eating well is pretty much the name of the game for Taurans, and I commend your commitment to the good life. While some may consider your lifestyle choices indulgent or lazy, the Virgoan city of Paris will welcome you with open arms.
From the moment you step through Gare du Nord and drop your perfect leather luggage off at your Airbnb, a Tauran can pretty much just emulate the Action Bronson food and wine tour of the City of Lights.
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Think fresh cheeses, skin contact wines, and more croissants than you can shake a baguette at. Virgoan Paris is all about the details, so you can peruse the archival Serge Lutens section at the Palais Royal, before getting your culture fix at the Musée d’Orsay. Live your best life; order two desserts.
Gemini
Travel to London, a Gemini city
Despite popular opinion, Geminis are actually one of the more decent star signs. You’re probably unfairly maligned because of the perception that you’re the two-faced twins of the zodiac (so many unfortunate memes).
Gemini folk are intelligent and talkative but they can unsettle easily and get restless. A holiday destination that can provide enough stimulation for a Gemini is a Gemini in kind: London. With her diversity in cultures, cuisines, and accents, London is an ever-shifting landscape of things to stimulate every sense.
Gallery hop from the Victoria and Albert to the Natural History Museum (I just have this feeling you Geminis would enjoy dinosaur skeletons and snakes?), watch the city wake up from an obscenely early breakfast at Duck and Waffle, or just get an ice-cream and lounge in one of London’s many green spaces.
Sagittarius
Travel to Portland, an Aries city
A very wise Tumblr post once said that the best thing about the Sagittarius sign is that they will do tonnes of cool shit with you. And the worst thing about the Sagittarius sign is that they will do tonnes of cool shit without you, and then tell you about it afterwards.
Thus far, this theory has not been disproven. You Sag lot are a very alluring bunch, probably the sign most truly comfortable being tagged as “adventurers”. This doesn’t mean, however, that you’re about to throw yourself gung-ho into climbing Everest.
#Sagittarius will not hold a grudge, but they will keep it in the back of their head about how crappy person you are.
This year a Sagittarius should make tracks to the understated Mecca of hipness and hipsters: Portland, Oregon. This Aries city is abundant with the kind of activities that make assembling a perfect day a walk (or cycle) in the park. Sip a beer from a microbrewery in the park, hang out in coffee houses, hike through some of the most beautiful trails in the state in Forest Park, and check out some of the excellent wares Portland’s artisanal and maker culture encourages.
Cancer
Travel to Venice, a Cancer city
Cancerians, much like the Cancerian city of Venice, are a beautiful if waterlogged bunch. Perhaps unfairly ridiculed as the only sign that cries more than Pisces, you Cancers are a water sign deeply attuned to your emotions, and the rare and beautiful experiences one can have in Venice make it the perfect holiday destination.
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Given Cancers have an intuitive, creative nature, the wealth of visual art and rarefied artistic practices in Venice will appeal to all, but hold a Cancer’s imagination in particular. You Cancers often find yourselves in a state of tension or constantly having to adjust themselves to the world; escaping to a Cancerian city will mean you can truly relax and enjoy your time off.
Leo
Travel to Naples, a Sagittarius city
One of the fire star signs through and through, you Leos of the zodiac are generally confident, dominant people. You’re ruled by the sun and have an air of regalness about you, even when you’re being stubborn or arrogant.
Leo: I don't want to freak you out but in an hour we're meeting all my friends. They want to feel your energy. Also they're obsessed with me. Did I mention that? Capricorn: Do you want me to fight someone for you? Because I will.
Naples, a Sagittarius city in southern Italy, would be ideal for a Leo holiday. Naples is characterised by royalty and fire, so any Leo would feel right at home. The beautiful city in the bay is home to the Royal Palace of Naples and impressive castles, such as the Castel Nuovo.
It’s also the home of one of natures’ biggest fire sign moments in human history, the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. That kind of historical and elemental event holds a lot of residual energy, which you Leos will deeply appreciate. At once a space of destruction and rebirth, Naples will make for a cleansing and energising Leo trip.
Scorpio
Travel to Tokyo, a Cancer city
One of the fixed water star signs, Scorpio is typically characterised as emotional and mysterious. You’re an assertive bunch and, underneath a resourceful and determined exterior, have intense depths of feeling. A Scorpio friend will never let you down, but a Scorpio partner might not let you up for air.
You Scorpios are a complex sign and a city that would cater well to your flights and fancies would be the Cancerian city of Tokyo. In Tokyo, there’s both restfulness and one of the harshest working cultures in the world.
It’s characterised by extremes of ancient beauty bracketed by pillars of the cutting edge of human modernity. You can ricochet between dimly lit, smokey izakayas in the evening and understated specialty coffee stores in the morning.
Treat yourself to an unforgettable kaiseki meal, or munch on onigiri from the konbini. Tokyo is a choose your own adventure game in extremes, ready for whatever a Scorpio decides to fixate on that day.
Virgo
Travel to Delhi, a Capricorn city
A very good Virgo friend once told me something apt about how she likes to travel: she likes things to be black and white, and won’t tolerate a grey area. Either give her the five star Lost In Translation treatment in the Park Hyatt Tokyo, or a bunk in a campsite under the stars in the desert in Egypt. No in-between.
Virgo is the fixed earth sign, and probably one of the biggest misconceptions about the sign is that all you Virgos are obsessed with order, are fanatic cleaners and are very fussy. In fact, your methodical and hardworking nature belies incredibly empathetic and humanistic qualities, and you move through life observing others keenly.
As much as you may enjoy order, you also enjoy the polar opposite extreme of letting go, relaxing control and being as present as possible. A place where a Virgo can thoroughly immerse themselves in the extremes of humanity is the Capricorn city of Delhi. The colours, sights, smells, and sounds are a cacophony to the senses. Delhi would keep a Virgo energised and enthralled.
Libra
Travel to Palermo, a Taurus city
You Librans can be one of the more enigmatic star signs. Considered the peacekeepers of the zodiac, you generally sociable and pleasant folk can also be some of the moodiest and most stubborn. You appreciate beauty, romance and harmony, and this comes across in both how you present yourself and what you choose to surround yourself with.
To that end, a perfect destination for a Libra to get away to is the Taurean city of Palermo in Italy. Both Taurans and Librans are ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty; AKA you’re a bunch of hopeless romantics.
For this reason, you are naturally aligned and can be complementary to each other, though each sign is ruled by Venus in very different ways.
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Palermo is the capital of the island of Sicily. Considered the jewel of the Mediterranean and celebrated in 2018 as Italy’s capital of culture, this city is an intricate layering of art, cuisine, dialects and rich religious history.
There’s more beauty than your eyes can take in, but you Librans can give it your best shot.
