The World Is Big. Life is Short. Join the Journey

The Design Tourist 

In this episode, host Karen LeBlanc takes viewers on a journey through the sights, sounds, and stories of Marrakech and the surrounding Atlas Mountains. Beginning at Marrakech Menara Airport, Karen introduces the “Red City,” with its UNESCO-listed medina and maze-like souks. She explores Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, meets artisans in the leather souks, and shops for traditional crafts while sharing tips on navigating the market culture.
The journey continues through the Jewish Quarter, Koutoubia Mosque, and the Bahia Palace, highlighting Morocco’s Islamic architecture, Berber heritage, and vibrant artistic traditions. Karen also visits the Majorelle Garden and Yves Saint Laurent Museum, connecting fashion and design to Moroccan culture.
Venturing outside the city, Karen travels to the Ourika Valley to experience Berber life firsthand—touring pottery workshops, visiting an argan oil women’s cooperative, exploring the hammam tradition, and hiking to the Setti Fatma Waterfalls. Along the way, she samples Moroccan cuisine, including tagine and couscous, while reflecting on cultural contrasts and warm hospitality.
The episode captures Morocco’s blend of history, artistry, and living traditions, showing why Marrakech is a crossroads of cultures and creativity.

Meet the artisans of Marrakech and the Berbers of the Atlas Mountains

Explore Morocco from Markets to Mountains

Travel journalist Karen LeBlanc takes you on a richly immersive journey through the heart of Cuba—from the colonial beauty of Trinidad to the vibrant soul of Cienfuegos. In this episode of The Design Tourist, explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites, learn how world-renowned cigars are made from seed to smoke, witness powerful artwork by Cuban creatives, and experience the daily life, rituals, and resilience of Cuban communities.

Get insider access to coffee farms, artist studios, sacred Santeria traditions, and even a private concert with Cuba’s iconic choir, Cantores de Cienfuegos. This is Cuba as few tourists ever see it—honest, vivid, and unforgettable.

Travel journalist Karen LeBlanc takes you on a richly immersive journey through the heart of Cuba.

Curious Cuba, from Trinidad to Cienfuegos

Welcome to Cuenca, Ecuador — a UNESCO World Heritage City that blends colonial beauty with rich cultural traditions. In this episode of The Design Tourist, travel journalist Karen LeBlanc explores Cuenca’s artisan heart: from the world-famous Panama hat weavers and flower vendors of Plaza de Las Flores to the copper rose makers and guitar luthiers nestled high in the Andes.
Ride horseback on the Inca Trail, sip herbal tea brewed by indigenous healers, and discover why Cuenca is known as the “Safekeeper of Culture” in Ecuador. We delve into the rich heritage of ancestral craftsmanship, encompassing black ceramics, silver filigree, and culinary traditions that define this vibrant city.
 Locations featured:
Plaza de Las Flores
Homero Ortega Panama Hat Factory
Cajas National Park
Tiestos Restaurant
Taller Uyaguari (Guitar workshop)
Chordeleg Silver District

Discover Cuenca, Ecuador, a UNESCO World Heritage city where colonial charm meets cultural tradition

Inside Cuenca: Ecuador’s UNESCO City of Art, Craft & Culture”

Join travel journalist Karen LeBlanc, The Design Tourist, as she explores the authentic soul of Cuba—from vintage cars and Hemingway’s haunts to Havana’s thriving art scene and Santeria rituals. Journey from Havana’s historic plazas to countryside traditions, discovering the people, passions, and places reshaping the island today. Learn how Cuba's cultural quirks, resilient spirit, and emerging creative class are redefining life post-revolution. Whether you're curious about Cuban cuisine, UNESCO heritage sites, or modern entrepreneurialism, this immersive travel story reveals it all.

Join travel journalist Karen LeBlanc, The Design Tourist, as she explores the authentic soul of Cuba

Curious Cuba: Exploring Havana 

Valencia, Spain has many claims to fame: the birthplace of paella, the growers of Valencia oranges, the cradle of ceramics production, a World Design Capital, and the 2024 European Green Capital. Join The Design Tourist Karen LeBlanc to explore Valencia, a city of contrasts, where the futuristic architecture of Santiago Calatrava shares the same space as UNESCO World Heritage sites, where the past and present collide in a fascinating mashup of culture, cuisine, and commerce.

Explore Valencia’s claims to fame from UNESCO World Heritage Sites to world class architecture

The Design Tourist Explores Valencia, Spain: Where the Silk Road Leads to a World Design Capital

In this episode of The Design Tourist, travel journalist Karen LeBlanc explores Iceland off the beaten path, away from the country's famously crowded tourist attractions. Head West to explore the country's geological wonders, from lava caves and glaciers to volcano-heated baths. Learn why Husafell is the ideal location for spotting the Northern Lights and experiencing Iceland's culinary culture. 

Head west to explore Iceland's hidden attractions and paths less traveled.

Episode 1 "The Design Tourist Explores Iceland's Path Less Traveled"

The Design Tourist journeys beyond stereotypical tourist attractions with travel journalist Karen LeBlanc to connect with local culture, cuisine, art, and craft from quirks and curiosities, lavish to laid-back places, and handmade to homecooked products. Explore the world’s most creative cities as a Design Tourist.


Travel along the Ring Road of Iceland's famed Golden Circle to explore waterfalls, black sand beaches and other geological wonders.

Episode 2 "The Design Tourist Explores Iceland's Natural Wonders"

Escape Iceland's tourist crowds to explore hidden wonders without missing popular attractions.

The Design Tourist, Exploring Iceland's Western Coast 

In this episode of The Design Tourist, we journey to the heart of Ecuador—Quito, a city that blends colonial charm with indigenous culture and high-altitude mystique. Standing at the "Middle of the Earth," we uncover the spiritual symbolism of the Apocalyptic Virgin, and learn about a religious art form that originated in this capital city. We'll explore Quito’s vibrant street art and meet local creatives keeping ancestral crafts alive. From majestic architecture to modern innovation, Quito is a city where design and history converge in breathtaking ways.

Journey to the heart of Ecuador—Quito, a city that blends colonial charm with indigenous culture. 

Explore Quito, Ecuador on a Hero’s Journey Through the Middle of the Earth

Join The Design Tourist, Karen LeBlanc, as the award-winning travel journalist explores Otavalo, Ecuador, on a Hero’s Journey of cultural immersion with the Kichwa people—one of the largest Indigenous groups in the Andes. In this episode, Karen learns to weave on a backstrap loom, cooks ancestral recipes with a local chef, creates traditional dream catchers, and explores the spiritual symbolism behind Ecuadorian volcanoes and rituals.

This journey is packed with rich experiences: shopping at South America's largest artisanal market, discovering Andean wind instruments, and visiting the "center of the world" at the Quitsato Solar Museum.
Discover Ecuador beyond the guidebooks—through the art, music, cuisine, and ancestral wisdom of its people.
Locations Featured: Otavalo, Peguche, Cayambe, San Pablo Lake, Quitsato Solar Museum
Traditions: Weaving, Cooking, Music Making, Dream Catchers, Spiritual Rituals

Join travel journalist Karen LeBlanc on a Kichwa cultural immersion in Otavalo, Ecuador

Explore Otavalo, Ecuador: A Cultural Immersion with the Kichwa

Travel along the Ring Road of Iceland's famed Golden Circle to explore waterfalls, black sand beaches and other geological wonders that make Iceland the ultimate adventure. Join The Design Tourist Karen LeBlanc to explore Iceland's famous attractions and hidden wonders along the South Coast. 

Explore Iceland’s natural and hidden wonders along the Southern coast and Golden Circle.

The Design Tourist Explores Iceland's South Coast

Explore Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. During medieval times, a major trade route ran through Erfurt, shaping its history, culture and commerce. Join The Design Tourist Karen LeBlanc as she shops the Merchant’s Bridge, the city’s iconic covered bridge lined with the workshops of craftspeople, preserving time-honored traditions that connect to the past with a present-day appreciation of objects made with meaning, passion, and patience. Germany is the birthplace of the Bauhaus a revolutionary school of art, architecture, and design that thrived in the 1920s and 30s, becoming the trailblazer for present-day modernism. The influence of the Bauhaus is worldwide, including right here in Erfurt, reflected in the many handicrafts for sale. 

Explore Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. During medieval times, a major tr

Erfurt Germany: Exploring Artisanal Crafts, Design, & Architectural Wonders

In this episode of The Design Tourist, host Karen LeBlanc ventures beyond Marrakech on a three-day journey to the edge of the Sahara Desert. Along the way, she travels through the High Atlas Mountains, marvels at the red-rock canyons of the Dades Gorge and Todra Gorge, and explores the ancient ksar of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site famous as a Hollywood film location.
Karen meets artisans practicing traditional crafts—from fire painters who use saffron and indigo pigments revealed by flame, to Berber carpet weavers preserving centuries-old textile traditions. She also learns how Berber and Bedouin communities have coexisted for generations, blending their languages, customs, and ways of life.
The adventure culminates in Merzouga, where Karen rides a camel caravan across the towering dunes of Erg Chebbi, experiences a luxury desert camp, stargazes under the unpolluted Saharan sky, and joins Berber musicians in a night of song and dance around the fire.
Through landscapes as cinematic as any film set and encounters with Morocco’s indigenous traditions, this journey reveals the mystical beauty and enduring culture of the Sahara.


Travel with The Design Tourist into Morocco’s Sahara Desert.

Explore Morocco from Kasbahs to Endless Dunes

Discover the incredible artisans of the Thuringian Forest in Germany, where the art of Christmas decor truly sparkles! Listen to their inspiring story of resilience through political divides as they passionately create festive masterpieces. Immerse yourself in the enchantment of the holiday season with one-of-a-kind Christmas crafts.

Meet the Christmas artisans of the Thuringia Forest in Germany, explore their craft & heritage