Quitos is the American Capital of Culture for 2011

Quito, Ecuador\'s magnificent capital standing nearly 3,000m above sea level Quito, Ecuador\'s magnificent capital standing nearly 3,000m above sea level on the eastern slopes of the Pichincha volcano, is the American Capital of Culture for 2011 and all year the city has been celebrating with a full programme of concerts, festivals, outdoor events and gastronomic fairs.
The emphasis in the last few months of the year is on the capital\'s ancestral, cultural and popular heritage, and the annual Fiestas de Quito, from November 26 to December 6, promises to be a particularly memorable one.
Founded in the 16th century, the city has a 130ha historic centre with 130 monuments and 5,000 heritage properties. In 1979 it was named a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and over the last decade investments of more than $250m (Dh918m) have been made to restore the picturesque centre, so that the historic theatres, cultural centres, plazas and patios in which the Capital of Culture events take place are looking at their very best.
The Bolshoi main stage, Moscow, reopens with Ruslan and Lyudmila
The most famous ballet company in the world has, for the last six years, been deprived of its rightful home. The main stage of the historic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow closed for major renovations in July 2005 and events were moved to the smaller new stage, which opened in a separate building in 2000.
Three theatres have stood on the site of the main stage since the Bolshoi company was founded in 1776; they have endured fires and aerial bombardment over the centuries, and the current reconstruction project has suffered from delays and a spiralling budget. When it opens today, the theatre will have absorbed US$730m (Dh2.7bn), and with a spend like that we expect the new-look building to be truly spectacular. Among other things, the original acoustics of the theatre, largely lost during Soviet-era renovations, have been restored. The first show to premiere there, on November 2, will be Glinka\'s opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, directed by Dmitry Chernyakov - surely the year\'s hottest ticket for ballet fans.
Tickets are available from www.bolshoi.ru/en/
St Regis opens on Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, November 1
In line with the enormous ambition of the Saadiyat Island project, which a few years from now will boast the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the world\'s largest Guggenheim Museum, the New York hotel brand St Regis opens its first Middle Eastern resort on November 1 and it\'s set to be very grand indeed.
The Saadiyat Island resort features 380 rooms and no fewer than seven themed restaurants on its beachside premises, next to the 72-par, championship standard golf course designed by golfing legend Gary Player. Adjoining the hotel will be a separate residence with 259 apartments of one, two and three bedrooms, as well as 32 exclusive villas going for between Dh22m and Dh25m. It also features more than 3,000 sq m of meeting and conference space and a function area able to serve 1,500 guests: not a small project, this. The resort, which has drawn inspiration from Mediterranean coastal retreats, is a mere 15 minutes drive from downtown Abu Dhabi.
Double rooms at St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort (www.stregissaadiyatisland.com; 02 403 6577) cost from Dh1,554 per night, including taxes.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday in New York, November 24-25
There may be more virtuous reasons for visiting New York towards the end of November - celebrating Thanksgiving on the 24th would be one - but hitting the sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is surely the most fun. Black Friday marks the start of the Christmas shopping season and stores all over the city put on one-day-only sales to promote it. Many retailers open as early as 4am to take advantage of the annual rush. It\'s a hectic experience and you\'d be wise to scout out your intended shops ahead of time.
The Flatiron Hotel, on Broadway at 23rd Street, is perfectly located between the upscale retailers in Midtown and the trendier outlets in Greenwich Village. The most eye-catching feature in this brand new hotel is the 76,000-litre cylindrical aquarium in the reception area.