[1] Culture+Travel was launched in 2006, a joint project between James Truman, former head of Conde Nast, and Louise Blouin, a Canadian businesswoman who had created a publishing house of multiple art magazines and books.

[2] Truman, originally from Nottingham, England, had wanted to launch an art magazine at Conde Nast, but failed to gain the support of the chief Samuel Irving "Si" Newhouse.

[13] Kate Sekules, former Travel Editor of Food & Wine,[8] writer for The New York Times and Vogue and author of The Boxer's Heart: A Woman Fighting[14] then took over, overseeing the name change from Culture & Travel to Culture+Travel, and a redesign in October 2007 that saw the magazine awarded a Merit for Magazine of the Year in 2009 from The Society of Publication Designers, as well as a Gold Medal for creative director Emily Crawford and illustrator Balint Zsako for the May/June 2008 cover, titled "Europe".

"[8] Notable contributors included photographer and artist Jill Greenberg,[8] American literary critic Daphne Merkin, Canadian journalist Graeme Wood, Dutch novelist Arnon Grunberg, illustrator Maira Kalman, Canadian musician Jamie James, Irish writer and novelist Colum McCann, and renowned American photographers Nan Goldin and Kathryn Parker Almanas.

Journalist Joshuah Bearman, the original creator of the Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning screenplay and movie Argo, wrote the cover feature in March 2008 on Japanese culture.