Aesthetically pleasing: Travel + Leisure Design Awards 2008

Travel definitely tops my list of interests, but coming a close second is design. Put anything with good lines and a sense of color in front of me and I am immediately thrilled. When I travel this turns into a lot of ogling at art and design inspired hotels and frequently visiting a lot of contemporary and modern art museums. Travel + Leisure seems to be on the exact same page this month with its Design Awards 2008.

As the chic travel magazine puts it, "Architecture and design shape every aspect of the travel experience." I couldn't agree more, and even though Travel + Leisure caters to a wealthier clientele, this still holds true when you are on a travel budget. Just because you can't afford to stay in a well designed, modern hotel, doesn't mean you can't visit the lobby. And a lot of great architecture is best viewed from the exterior -- a perfectly inexpensive way to pass an afternoon.

To showcase some of the best design, Travel + Leisure picked 15 different travel related categories and put together a slide show of the winners. Some of my personal favorite winners include the Nordpark Cable Railway Station in Austria, which won Best Transportation and the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, which won Best Cultural Space. Other winners were the Beijing National Stadium, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York City and the Town House Galleria, Milan. Take a minute to feast your eyes on some of the best in travel design here.

What are your favorite travel designs?

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Hotels and Accommodations, Transportation