Red wine and health: Where do we stand?

Even a chocolate bar that is 70% cocoa, generally considered dark chocolate, can have varying levels of flavonoid compounds, depending on how it was processed. For example, chocolate that has gone through a chemical step known as dutching, also known as Dutch chocolate, has essentially lost all traces of these compounds.

Then there is the milk and sugar. “What we get commercially is not just the pure chocolate. … I don’t think the milk and sugar in milk chocolate would be that good for you,” Khawaja said.

That could be bad news for those who hope to harness the power of chocolate when they grab a Hershey’s or Snickers bar. Contrary to what the ads said when milk chocolate was first introduced in Europe and the United States in the late 1800s, it may not be a nutritious part of our diet.

Health effects of coffee: Where do we stand?

But we need more research looking at the effects of consuming all kinds of chocolate, including milk. “There is not enough data as to what form of chocolate is good,” and how much chocolate is good, Khawaja said. Studies tend to ask participants about whether they consume chocolate or dark chocolate, but not what kind. To make matters worse, people often forget or misrepresent how much they really eat.

For now, it is probably safe to say that dark chocolate is good — or at least, not bad. “But until we have more data, don’t eat too much. If you’re having a serving once or twice a day, fine. But don’t start having it six times a day,” Khawaja said.

Here’s a look at what doctors, rulers and businesspeople have thought of chocolate through the ages.

500 B.C. ‘God food’ for everyone

The word “cocoa” comes from “kakawa,” which meant “God food” to the Olmec people who lived in what is now Central America between 1500 and 500 B.C. The ancient Mayan people in what is present-day Mexico apparently agreed. Researchers have detected chemicals from chocolate in Mayan ceramic vessels dating as far back as 600 B.C. Chocolate, which was often consumed as athick, foamy beverage, probably only increased in popularity over the following centuries. By the time Europeans discovered the Mayans, chocolate was not just for the gods and the rich. Everyone was drinking it.

1500: Chocolate is the original energy drink

The chocolate beverage scored a huge endorsement when Aztec Emperor Montezuma II, who reigned from 1502 to 1520, called it “(t)he divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue.A cup of this precious drink (cocoa) permits man to walk for a whole day without food.”

1577: Got the runs? Take some chocolate

By the 16th century, chocolate was racking up a reputation both in the Americas and Europe for treating many medical ails, including fever, cough, and stomach and liver problems. In 1577, Spanish explorer Francisco Hernandez wrote about how Mexicans toasted cacao beans and ground them into a medicinal powder that “contained dysentery.” Five centuries later, in 2005, researchers found that flavonoid antioxidants in chocolate can block fluid secretion in intestinal cells, at least in the lab, suggesting that cocoa could provide natural diarrheal relief.

1719: Chocolate, it’s what’s for dinner

In his book “The Natural History of Chocolate,” Frenchman D. De Quelus recounted his 15-year-stay in the Americas and concluded that an ounce of chocolate had “as much nourishment as a pound of beef.” Perhaps as evidence to his point, he described a woman who could not chew because of a jaw injury and had to subsist on a diet of only chocolate dissolved in hot water with sugar and cinnamon. She was “more lively and robust than before (her) accident,” De Quelus wrote.

1825: A spoonful of chocolate helps the medicine go down

A French pharmacist by the name of Jean-Antoine Brutus Menier opened a factory that coated less palatable pills with chocolate. When his sons took over, they dropped the medicinal side and turned it into Menier Chocolate (which was eventually sold to Nestle).

1864: Slather chocolate on your syphilis sores

Chocolate was the most pleasant of the ingredients in a balm given to syphilis patients that also included corrosive materials. Chocolate was also used as an antidote for infections with parasitic worms — for that prescription, it was mixed with sugar, cinnamon, tree oil and an antifungal agent called calomel.

1875: Milk chocolate is born

After nearly a decade of experimentation, Swiss inventor Daniel Peter unveiled the “original” milk chocolate, a combination of cocoa, cocoa butter, condensed milk and sugar. Ads proclaimed the product to be a dietary staple more nutritious than coffee, and also a luxury that was “as distinct from ordinary eating chocolate as the Alps are from foot-hills.” Switzerland had the corner on milk chocolate until Cadbury hit the scene in England in 1904, promising to make “strong men stronger” and generally to be the superlative milk chocolate in terms of nutrition, sustenance and refreshment.

1900: Hershey brings milk chocolate goodness to American soil

Milton S. Hershey first made a name for himself in the 1880s by developing a caramel candy so tasty, it killed all competition. By the turn of the century, the famous confectioner had moved on to chocolate. After a reconnaissance mission to Switzerland, the birthplace of milk chocolate, Hershey introduced the 5-cent bar from, where else, Pennsylvania. Similar to its European predecessors, the bar was marketed as a daily dietary requirement that was “more sustaining than meat.”

1989: Antidepressant could cure chocoholics

Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, texts piled up describing the everything-under-the-sun medicinal purposes of chocolate. But what if you needed medicine to stop yourself from indulging in chocolate? For the first time in medical literature, doctors reported successfully treating two patients with possible chocolate addiction using the then-new antidepressant bupropion, known as Wellbutrin. One of the patients, a middle-aged woman who also suffered from depression, went from eating 2 pounds of chocolate candy a day to having no interest in chocolate after taking bupropion. (She still had a normal appetite for other foods, though.)

1996: Is chocoholism really an addiction?

Research has concluded what most of us already know: Chocolate is the most craved of all foods. The power of chocolate is probably only boosted by the sweetness and creaminess of most chocolate treats. But could it really be addictive in the same way that drugs and alcohol are?Psychologists argue against this possibility. Although chocolate contains caffeine and substances similar to those found in marijuana, it probably does not contain high enough levels to have long-term effects on brain chemistry.

1998: Chocolate is the ultimate comfort food

Forget pizza and French fries; chocolate may be the ultimate of all comfort foods. A study of 330 adults in the United Kingdom suggests that people tend to crave chocolate when they are feeling down, upset or stressed. Experts speculate this is because eating chocolate, like all enjoyable foods, gives us a rush of endorphins. These are the same feel-good chemicals that our bodies release when we exercise.

2002: Is chocolate a cancer-fighting food?

Is it too good to be true that chocolate fights cancer? Maybe not, according to some emerging data. An antioxidant found in chocolate called catechin was linked with lower rates of lung cancer in a study of elderly Dutch men. A year later, a study of postmenopausal women in the United States found that those who consumed the highest level of catechin had 45% lower risk of rectal cancer, compared with those who consumed the lowest level. However, the authors of the studies pointed out that other foods and drinks, especially tea, apples and pears, are richer sources of catechin than chocolate, and the lower rates of cancer could have more to do with people consuming them.

2004: Like giving chocolate to a crying baby

Pregnant women might want to give in to their chocolate cravings. Women who report eating chocolate every day during their pregnancy go on to describe their babies as being more active and having a better temperament when they are 6 months old. The researchers who conducted the study suggest that chocolate may help mitigate prenatal stress in moms-to-be.

2005: Dark chocolate may fend off diabetes

It’s hard to imagine that chocolate could keep your blood sugar in check, but dark chocolate might have just that effect. In a small study of healthy adults, those who ate half an ounce of dark chocolate a day for 15 days had better insulin sensitivity, and lower blood pressure to boot, than adults who ate a similar amount of white chocolate.

2006: Chocolate is Indians’ secret to a healthy heart

Researchers from the United States traveled to a remote island in Panama to solve a medical mystery: Why are the Kuna Indians that live there free from high blood pressure and other medical ailments, even though they ate as much salt as Americans? The likely explanation, researchers found, is that this population consumes a lot of cocoa-containing beverages, about 10 times the amount of the less traditional Kuna living in Panama City. Previous research suggested that antioxidants in the cocoa plant called flavanols could cause blood vessels to dilate, reducing blood pressure.

2006: This is your brain on chocolate

If chocolate is a drug, at least it doesn’t seem to have scary effects on your brain like in those 1980s public service announcements. A 2006 study carried out brain imaging of young women and observed increased blood flow to the brain after the women drank a cocoa beverage high in flavanol antioxidants for five days. Studies over the next several years found that young women had faster reaction times after consuming dark chocolate and that older adults performed better on a memory test after drinking high-flavanol cocoa beverages for three months.

2006: Maybe chocolate is not an aphrodisiac after all

The Aztec Emperor Montezuma II is said to have sipped on the “divine drink” of chocolate “before visiting his wives.” However, science has not yet supported a role for chocolate in the bedroom. A study of women in Northern Italy did find that those who reported eating the most chocolate had higher levels of sexual desire and satisfaction. But these women were also younger than the non-chocolate eaters, and researchers concluded that age rather than chocolate consumption probably explained the sexual differences.

2008: Chocolate takes a bite out of inflammation

A study of adults in Italy found that those who ate small to moderate amounts of dark chocolate — up to 0.3 ounces a day, the equivalent of about one and a half Hershey’s Kisses — had lower levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation that has been linked to heart disease. But there was a catch. Those who ate more than one-third of an ounce of chocolate a day did not appear to reap any inflammation-lowering benefit.

2010: Chocolate buzz could help chronic fatigue syndrome sufferers

Montezuma II might have been onto something when he deemed chocolate a remedy for fatigue. A small study found that people with severe chronic fatigue syndrome got relief from their symptoms — and some were even able to return to work — after consuming chocolate rich in polyphenol antioxidants for eight weeks.

2011: To be addicting or not to be. That is the chocolate question.

Ever lament how chocolate is the perfect food, except when you want to stop eating it? Don’t worry, science understands. A study implicated both the sugar and the cocoa in chocolate for making adults less able to keep themselves from going back for seconds. Tasting chocolate even triggered feelings of euphoria and well-being in these adults, just as addictive drugs can.

But even though chocolate may trigger loss of control, it is probably not addictive, said Jennifer Nasser, associate professor of nutrition sciences at Drexel University and lead author of the study. For one thing, it takes too long for chemicals from chocolate to enter our bloodstream, she said. However, other researchers say that sugar can be addicting and can change brain chemistry in a way that resembles drug addiction.

2012: Chocolate could save your skin

Chocolate could team up with beverages such as coffee, tea and cola to drive down your risk of skin cancer. A study of more than 120,000 nurses in the United States revealed that women and men who guzzled the highest amount of these beverages and ate the most chocolate had an 18% and 13% lower risk of developing skin cancer, respectively, presumably because of the caffeine they contain. But, the caffeine in a serving of chocolate is piddly compared with that in a cup of coffee — 7 milligrams, vs. 137 milligrams.

2015: Is chocolate good for your heart? Let us count the ways.

The blood pressure-lowering power of chocolate could be just the beginning. Researchers uncovered other heart benefits in a large analysis of more than 150,000 men and women in the United States, Europe and Australia who reported eating up to 3.5 ounces of chocolate a day. Chocolate consumption was associated with a 21% lower risk of stroke, 29% lower risk of developing heart disease and 45% lower risk of dying of heart disease.

Even better news for some, the study found that consuming milk chocolate, often regarded as less healthy than dark chocolate, was also associated with lower risk of heart disease. The authors speculate that ingredients such as calcium in milk chocolate may contribute to this beneficial effect.

Although the authors say the benefits they observed could be due to other foods in the participants’ diets, they do at least take the findings to mean that there “does not appear to be any evidence to say that chocolate should be avoided in those who are concerned about cardiovascular risk.”

Though winemaking in Moldova dates back more than 5,000 years, Moldovan wine — and Moldova in general — has flown almost completely under the radar.

Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, the tiny country’s wines are a delight, from indigenous whites like rara neagra and plavai to its crisp, fruity sauvignon blancs and chardonnays.

You’ll even find excellent reds in mild, dry southern Moldova: robust, earthy saperavis, as well as elegant cabernets, gamays and pinot noir.

Interestingly, almost a quarter of all Moldovans are winemakers — it’s the most vineyard-dense country in the world.

The country is also home to the world’s largest wine cellar, Milestii Mici, which has more than two million bottles.

Visit: Cricova winery produces velvety, medium-bodied Orasul Subteran Rara Neagra, made exclusively with indigenous Moldovan grapes.

Weinkombinat Cricova | Petru Ungureanu St., 1, Cricova Moldova

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MORE: Moldova: Where I got my hands on Putin’s wine

Sicily, Italy

Though Italy’s beautiful southernmost island has been making wine for more than five millennia, residents there have only recently garnered international buzz.

That’s a good thing: only in the past two decades has the region shifted away from the mass production of lackluster wine to create exciting indigenous wines expressive of the island’s unique and diverse terroir. (Look for bottles labeled DOC Sicilia, which guarantees the wine’s origin and quality.)

Now, Sicily has blossomed into one of the world’s most important new wine regions, turning out big, powerful reds like nero d’Avola and fresh, minerally whites like grillo and catarratto.

On the sunny island of Pantelleria, you’ll find one of Italy’s best dessert wines, Passito di Pantelleria — an amber-colored wine that’s alive with flavors of apricot, honey and caramel.

Visit: Donnafugata winery is known for Ben Rye Passito di Pantelleria and beautiful vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean.

Donnafugata | Contrada Khamma, 91017, Sicily Italy

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In Sicily, the vines are old, the buzz is new.

Tasmania, Australia

South Australia’s Barossa Valley has competition — some of Australia’s most vibrant new wines are coming out of the country’s overlooked island state of Tasmania.

Separated from the mainland by a 240-kilometer strait, Tasmania’s southern latitude and cool, maritime climate makes for unique wines vastly different from anywhere else in the country.

In northern Tasmania’s Tamar Valley, you’ll find crisp, dry rieslings and sauvignon blancs, as well as full-bodied chardonnays.

In warmer southern Tasmania, across the Derwent, Huon and Coal River Valleys, you’ll find rich, bold cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and shiraz.

There are only 160 producers across the island, so you’re guaranteed a more intimate wine-tasting experience — and the chance to meet the owners and winemakers themselves.

Visit: The family-owned Freycinet winery, established in 1979 by Geoff and Susan Bull, turns out a Burgundy-like pinot noir.

Freycinet Vineyards | 15919 Tasman Highway, Bicheno, Tasmania Australia

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Swartland, South Africa

Traditionally a grain-producing area, Swartland has been overshadowed by the more famous South African wine-producing districts of Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek.

But in recent years, the region has emerged as a source of dynamic wine: lush, plummy pinotages (a cinsault-pinot noir cross unique to South Africa), zesty chenin blancs, smoky syrahs and daring blends.

The region’s newfound success can be credited in large part to Swartland Independent Producers, an organization founded in 2010 by ambitious winemakers passionate about improving the quality of wines across the vastly under-appreciated region.

The organization is responsible for putting together the Swartland Revolution, a weekend-long festival held each November celebrating local wine, food and music.

Visit: Sadie Family Winery turns out a renowned palladius, a top-rated blend of chenin blanc, grenache blanc, clairette blanc, viognier and chardonnay.

Sadie Family Winery, Babylons Toren Road, Paardeberg, Malmesbury, South Africa; +27 76 151 7131

Michigan

Akin to Sonoma Valley’s landscape 20 years ago, Michigan wine country is bucolic and largely undeveloped, comprising just 100 or so small- to medium-sized wineries and just less than 3,000 acres of wine-producing vineyards.

Yet the new wines coming out of this highly undervalued region — particularly those from the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas — are fantastic.

Standouts include semi-dry German and Alsatian varietals like riesling (the region’s most widely planted grape), gewurzrtraminer and traminette.

Other dry whites like sauvignon blanc, vinho verde, pinot grigio and chardonnay are consistently bright and crisp across the region, and very good value.

Visit: Chateau Grand Traverse turns out an award-winning dry gewurztraminer and delicate rieslings.

Chateau Grand Traverse Winery | 12239 Center Road, Traverse City, MI 49686

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Sometime soon someone may fill your glass with a Michigan wine.

Franciacorta, Italy

The world’s best new sparkling wines come from Italy — you just haven’t heard of the place yet.

Like Champagne, Italy’s Franciacorta is both a geographical region and a wine.

The wine is made using methode champenoise — a special way of getting it to sparkle — and with the same grape varietals as chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot blanc.

Despite the similarities, franciacorta remains a distinctly Italian wine and is an absolute expression of its terroir, characterized by a creamy texture and ultra-fine perlage.

Though the region is best known for its eponymous sparkler, it also produces extraordinary still wines like merlot and pinot grigio.

Visit: The ultramodern Ca’ del Bosco winery features an extensive art collection and powerfully complex Cuvee Annamaria Clementi.

Ca’ del Bosco | Via Albano Zanella 13, 25030 Erbusco Italy

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Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Though the Bekaa Valley is billed as the oldest wine-producing region in the world — wine is said to have been cultivated there as early as 725 B.C. — Lebanese wines are still little known to the mainstream wine consumer.

That’s starting to change.

In recent years, a new generation of producers trained in Burgundy and Bordeaux have begun to create wines that are slowly capturing global attention.

Thanks to the fertile valley’s climate and its location on an inland plateau 900 meters above sea level, you’ll find everything from plush red blends (mainly cabernet mixed with syrah and merlot) to light, floral muscats and viogniers.

Standout producers like Chateau Musar and Chateau Ksara have also made powerful wines using local grapes like arinarnoa, obeideh and merwah.

Visit: The renowned but idiosyncratic Chateau Musar makes a richly textured Chateau Musar Red. You can still purchase 1950s vintages on-site.

Chateau Musar, Ghazir, Lebanon; +961 132 8200

Walla Walla Valley, Oregon and Washington

Though often overlooked in favor of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the lush Walla Walla Valley, which spans both the states of Oregon and Washington, is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing wine regions in the United States.

Thanks to its diverse terroir — from dry and semi-arid to cool and moist — a wide range of grape varietals thrives across the valley, including cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.

On the Oregon side, in the Rocks sub-appellation, you’ll find one of the country’s most interesting syrahs, made from grapes grown within a bed of basalt rock.

The resulting wine is remarkably smoky, earthy and rich.

Visit: Cayuse Vineyards does bio-dynamic wines including a critically acclaimed Bionic Frog Syrah.

Cayuse Vineyards | 17 E. Main St, Walla Walla, WA

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Moravia, Czech Republic

Though the Czech Republic is better known for beer, its easternmost province of Moravia, just north of the Austrian border, has quietly been producing some of the world’s best white wines for years.

In the sub-region of Slovacko, sandy soils and a cool climate make for zesty rieslings and obscure, herbaceous whites like Muller-Thurgau, Gruner Veltliner and Moravian Muscat.

Further east in Velke Pavlovice, clay soils make for smooth reds with soft tannins like pinot noir and portugiser blauer, made from an Austrian grape of the same name.

Wine aside, Moravia is worth the visit alone for its lush landscapes, fairytale chateaux and year-round temperate weather.

Visit: The family-run Smrcka winery for a glass of Austrian Blaufrankisch wine, which will likely come accompanied by a platter of gherkins, a local specialty.

Smrcka winery, New Saldorf, Moravia, Czech Republic; +420 739 144 688

Soave, Italy

From the 1970s to 1990s, Soave was one of Italy’s most exported white wines — so popular, it even surpassed chianti in U.S. sales at one point.

Unfortunately, most of the Soave coming out of the eponymous region was mass-produced and mediocre, and the wine was eventually eclipsed by pinot grigio.

Nowadays, Soave is back on an upswing, and much of the new wines being produced are complex and lively, particularly those made with garganega grapes from cru and classico vineyards.

Worth trying are the sparkling Soave spumante and the rich, golden recioto di Soave, a highly undervalued passito that’s a good alternative to a classic sauternes.

Visit: The Pieropan winery is worth a visit for its medium-bodied, crisp Soave Classico and views over Soave Castle.

Pieropan winery, Giulio Camuzzoni, 3, 37038 Soave VR, Italy; +39 045 619 0171

Tiny houses in the woods

Getaway, a tiny house vacation startup born in Harvard University’s Innovation Lab, wants to steer guests away from the tendency to hop on TripAdvisor and plan out every moment of their precious time away.

That’s why it doesn’t disclose the exact locations of its 160-square-foot houses — all three of which are within a couple of hours of Boston — to visitors until 24 hours before their trip.

Getaway sees its tiny houses as a true escape, a way to disconnect from work “but also a way to disconnect from standard vacations, which tend to stress people out more than they should given their purpose,” CEO and co-founder Jon Staff said.

“We really want you to just drop your bags and be there and read a book or play a board game or have a conversation with your loved one,” Staff said.

Staff, a Harvard Business School student, founded the company with Harvard Law student Pete Davis. Harvard Graduate School of Design students design the houses.

The spare, wooden tiny homes are situated in quiet, rural settings complete with fire pits outside ready for s’mores.

The Getaway houses rent for an average of $99 per night. The cabins are stocked with food and supplies that guests can purchase.

Stumbling into the ‘tiny house movement’

Some Americans who live in average-size homes are making the most of their properties by adding or converting existing buildings on their lots into tiny rentals.

Erin Gentry and her family built a lofted guest house on their property in Austin, Texas, because renovation plans for their 1928 bungalow involved losing their third bedroom.

They hadn’t planned to rent it out, but the little house has been a huge hit with guests.

“We put it up on Airbnb, and people love it! We were booked solid for a year and a half, almost every day we had it available was booked,” Gentry wrote in an email.

Guests have had great things to say: “The space itself is delightful, I felt like I was at camp climbing up the ladder for bed,” wrote one Airbnb reviewer.

“It had everything that a hotel would have (but way more unique),” another said.

Gentry and her wife and daughter learned about the tiny house movement after the fact, from guests who have considered building their own tiny homes.

At the moment, the three are living in the guest house until renovations on their primary home are completed this month. Then it’s back to the rental market for their tiny dwelling.

Wee considerations

If you’re traveling with a must-do checklist, staying in residential neighborhoods where local landlord/hosts can steer you toward new and overlooked spots can be an asset.

While private rentals in sought-after cities are also pretty economical — nightly rates on many of these little homes are in the $100 to $150 range — staying in a tiny house is really all about soaking up unique design details.

Unusual angles, amazing ideas for optimizing space, reclaimed wood and retro appliances: These are tiny house charms.

But tiny does have its trade-offs.

If you’re set on cooking a four-course meal, the appliances in some of these diminutive dwellings may not match your ambitions. Gentry’s home in Austin has a sink, a microwave, a refrigerator and coffee and tea gear, but no stove or oven.

These houses are often in neighborhoods a few miles from city centers. Some properties offer free bike use or rentals, and it’s worth making a note of taxi or Uber availability and other transportation options.

Listings are usually pretty detailed, but it doesn’t hurt to ask about amenities you’re set on.

Finding the tiny ones

These Google searches will yield a cross-section of tiny house inventory: “tiny house” site:homeaway.com or “tiny house” site:airbnb.com.

Keyword searches aren’t possible on Airbnb, but the site does have a page(airbnb.com/wishlists/little-listings) where a wide selection of smaller properties are featured.

Another website, tinyhousevacations.com, aggregates listings from Airbnb and other sources.

Tokyo’s big idea: Can micro-homes offer housing solution

The 3-acre, $23 million space will house the first all-metal airliner, Boeing Model 247 from 1933, and the first all-composite airliner, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Also on view will be prototypes of the Boeing 727, 737 and 747 and the World War II-era B-17 and B-29.

The Museum of Flight’s new Aviation Pavilion is expected to open in late June.

Light City Baltimore

When the inaugural Light City Baltimore goes live, 28 light art installations will illuminate a 1.5-mile path along the city’s Inner Harbor, with pop-up performances and musical acts adding to the festivities.

Organizers of the weeklong event, which runs March 28 through April 3, also hope to shine a light on their beloved city’s creative and innovative communities.

Most of the artists picked in a juried competition are locals, says Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts Executive Director Bill Gilmore, and much of their art reflects the social justice concerns of city residents.

The daytime Light City U will feature sessions focusing on sustainability, health care, education and the city’s creative industries.

Alaska’s national parks

If you’re seeking a spot where few have ever set foot, one of Alaska’s 23 national parks may be a perfect fit.

And 2016 is the right time to celebrate some of America’s most pristine landscapes as the National Park Service marks its centennial in every state.

Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, 450 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, can’t be reached by car, only by air or sea.

Home to a 6-mile-wide, 2,500-foot-deep caldera, the site offers truly primitive camping, with no public park facilities available. Only 134 people visited in all of 2014.

Opportunities for solitude are also excellent at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park at more than 13 million acres.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska is the nation’s largest national park.

At home with Van Gogh, Chicago

More in the mood for intimacy than expansiveness? Vincent Van Gogh delivers.

Perhaps the most famous bedroom in history, Van Gogh’s room in Arles, France, is the subject of“Van Gogh’s Bedrooms,” on view at the Art Institute of Chicago from February 14 through May 10.

The in-depth study of the artist’s three paintings of the room, created between 1888 and 1889 and shown together for the first time in North America, is the first dedicated to this small corner of his life.

The exhibit features more than 30 works by the artist, all illuminating his exploration of home.

Cleveland

There’s a lot going on in Cleveland: new hotels and restaurants, rejuvenation along the Cuyahoga River with The Flats East Bank development, a $32 million Public Square redesign and the Republican National Convention in July.

But what’s got us really intrigued is the marriage of two great nutritional groups: beer and doughnuts.

Brewnuts started as a beer-flavored doughnut venture and is about to become a flagship doughnut-themed bar where brews used in the baking will be available on draft. Of course, concoctions like maple bacon bourbon ale doughnuts will also be served fresh from the fryer.

Located in the Gordon Square Arts District of the trendy Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, the bar is expected to open in early spring.

National Blues Museum, St. Louis

When the National Blues Museum in St. Louis opens in April, you’ll be able to follow the historical migration of the blues and compare music from different regions at every turn.

“From the Mississippi Delta to Canada, every place has its own unique style,” said Dion Brown, the museum’s founding executive director.

Visitors to the 23,000-square-foot museum can build their own blues riffs and learn how to play in a jug band. The museum’s performance hall will host concerts, and artists will perform at the museum during the day.

The National Blues Museum is set to open in St. Louis in April.

Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail, New Mexico

New Mexico’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail — with nearly 100 spots to sample — is a tasty way to add a little spice to your life this year.

Though their exact origins are unknown, the distinctive burgers laden with cheese and green chiles have appeared on menus across the state since at least the 1950s.

At Sparky’s in Hatch, a town defined by chiles, you can wash your burger down with a green chile shake.

At 5 Star Burgers — a chain with locations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos — green chile mayo amps up the green chile cheeseburger experience.

Lexington, Kentucky

Though known as a hotbed for bourbon and horses, Kentucky’s second-largest city has branched out into craft beer and contemporary art.

21c Museum Hotels is scheduled to open its fifth location in Lexington this spring, a sure sign that this city is putting a twist on tradition.

Housed in downtown Lexington’s historic Fayette National Bank Building, 21c Lexington will be a contemporary art museum, restaurant and boutique hotel in one.

And visitors who vote beer over bourbon are in luck. The Brewgrass Trail traces the region’s burgeoning craft beer movement with about a half-dozen stops in Lexington.

The 21c Museum Hotel in Lexington, Kentucky is scheduled to open this spring.

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington

The African-American experience will finally have a home within the nation’s most prestigious collection of museums.

After more than four years of construction, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is scheduled to open this fall on a 5-acre tract near the Washington Monument.

The final above-ground museum slated for the National Mall, the 400,000-square-foot building will house an array of exhibits aimed at transcending “the boundaries of race and culture that divide us.”

Currently, the museum has a temporary gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Copa America Centenario, across the U.S.

Soccer fans are eagerly anticipating June’s Copa America Centenario, the centennial edition of the South American tournament, which is being held in the United States for the first time.

From June 3 through June 26, 16 teams will play in 10 venues scattered across the U.S. from Boston to the Bay Area.

The U.S., Mexico, Brazil and Argentina will be the seeded teams. The final match is scheduled for June 26 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Buffalo, New York

The renaissance of the upstate New York town of Buffalo is due, in part, to its celebration of its past as a transportation hub and site of great architecture.

The western terminus of the Erie Canal is what’s now called Canalside, an all-season entertainment district where you can ride ice bikes and skate during winter.

Once a feature of one of the world’s largest grain ports, the enormous grain elevators dotting the area are inspiration for the Silo City performance art space and a nightly Canalside light show.

For architecture buffs, the $50 million restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House Complex should be complete in the fall, and visitors can see more Wright work on upcoming “All Wright All Day” tours.

Also slated to open in 2016, the Hotel Henry will give the former Buffalo State Asylum new life as a boutique hotel.

Not sure what to do first? Stop by local cafe Sweetness 7 and chat with owner Prish Moran, known as “Buffamama” to the locals.

Canalside is an all-season entertainment district in Buffalo.

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Birmingham, Alabama

The world’s largest motorcycle collection is getting a bigger home.

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum — home to more than 1,400 motorcycles — is undergoing a $15 million expansion, adding 84,650 square feet to its existing 144,000-square-foot facility in Birmingham, Alabama.

The expansion will allow the museum to display up to 1,000 motorcycles at a time as well as an expanded display of Lotus race cars. The expansion is expected to open in October.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Los Angeles

This spring, the West Coast will welcome its own Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

The wildly popular themed land, featuring the village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is opening at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 7.

On its marquee ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, guests will wear Quidditch-inspired goggles to take advantage of its hyper-realistic 3D-HD technology.

Pasaquan, Buena Vista, Georgia

He called himself St. EOM and worked for three decades on a colorful art environment in his native Georgia.

The 7-acre site called Pasaquan is visionary self-taught artist Eddie Owens Martin’s most extensive project, consisting of six major structures, hundreds of feet of colorfully painted masonry fence, totems, sculptures and other artifacts.

Recently restored and turned over to Columbus State University, Pasaquan is set to open to visitors in 2016, with a soft-opening mid-year and a grand opening expected in October.

Admission will be $5 for adults.

Eddie Owens Martin’s folk art environment Pasaquan was recently restored and is set to open this year.

Tennessee Whiskey Trail

With more than 30 distilleries across Tennessee, this state’s whiskey culture has grown far beyond Jack Daniels and George Dickel. Seven newcomers opened last year, with five more distilleries planned for 2016.

The 4-year-old Tennessee Whiskey Trail helps visitors decide which spots to explore, including standouts such as Gatlinburg’s Sugarlands Distilling Co. and Corsair Artisan Distillery in Nashville.

Taste dozens of whiskeys in one place at the third annual Tennessee Whiskey Festival in May.

The elder statesman Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg is marking its 150th anniversary this year. Take a sampling tour and look for echoes of Jack, who often ate lunch at the nearby Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House.

Pearl Harbor at 75, Oahu

December 7, 2016, marks 75 years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.

To mark the anniversary, the National WWII Museum has organized a seven-night educational tourfrom December 1 to December 8 in Hawaii.

The trip includes a four-part symposium on the events leading up to the attack and site visits led by historians.

Participants will also be guests at a ceremony at the USS Arizona commemorating the attacks. If booked by January 12, the trip is $8,750 for double occupancy ($8,995 after January 13).

World events that’ll shake up your 2016 vacation