Travel

Olivia Estrada, the on board manager, carries plates of food to the dome car for guests aboard a Patrick Henry Creative Promotions private rail car as it travels from Chicago, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, on May 19, 2026. Private train cars may seem like a relic of the past, but for some rail fans, nothing beats having — or renting — your own sleeper car. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times)

The quiet allure of private rail

By The New York Times News Service Syndicate

October 2, 2026 at 6:15 p.m.

Private rail cars traveled 429,000 miles on Amtrak in fiscal year 2025, according to the...

Cary Sabados shops for chocolate at Hotel Chocolat in Lakeview on Feb. 12, 2026. This Lakeview location, opened last April, was the first Chicago store. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Chicago-based Hotel Chocolat going nationwide with airport concessions, grocery stores and new retail markets

By Robert Channick

September 23, 2026 at 12:37 p.m.

This fall, Hotel Chocolat will pop up at 49 airports, hit the shelves at Wegmans,...

UNITE Here Local 1 workers from Cambria Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile Hotel picket outside of the hotel on Oct. 23, 2018. (José M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Chicago hotel workers vote to strike

By Talia Soglin

September 21, 2026 at 4:15 p.m.

Workers at dozens of downtown Chicago hotels could go on strike at any time, according...

In Paris, “bouquinistes” sell used books and memorabilia from green metal stalls that line the Left Bank of the Seine River. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Europe by the book

By Rick Steves

October 21, 2025 at 4:14 a.m.

Getting close to one of the big icons of Western civilization – the Acropolis, the...

The Disney Dream cruise ship debuted out of Port Canaveral in 2011, but now sails out of Port Everglades. (Mark Gauert/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Mom of 5-year-old girl who fell overboard on Disney Dream won’t face criminal charge

By Angie Dimichele

October 20, 2025 at 5:19 p.m.

The mom of a 5-year-old girl who fell overboard from the Disney Dream cruise ship...

If Rotterdam has a single bold icon representing its modern approach to architecture, it’s Piet Blom’s funky cubed houses. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Rotterdam: Where Dutch quaint meets bold modernity

By Rick Steves

October 15, 2025 at 5:55 p.m.

When traveling in the Netherlands – with its canals, windmills, and tulip fields – it...

Battersea Power Station is one of London’s many examples of industrial structures that have been regenerated to appeal to modern lifestyles. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: London’s regeneration scene

By Rick Steves

October 7, 2025 at 3:00 a.m.

London’s Docklands is a great example of regeneration. In the 19th century, the Docklands was...

The Franklin at 11th Street Station is under construction on Sept. 16, 2025, while the hyperboloid cooling tower at the NIPSCO Michigan City Generating Station is visible along the lakefront in Michigan City, Indiana. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Michigan City building boom aims to overcome industrial past to draw Chicagoans to visit and stay

By Robert McCoppin

October 3, 2025 at 3:32 p.m.

Michigan City officials are trying to change their town’s image from that of an industrial...

The sheer magnitude of Slovenia’s Škocjan cave is hard to capture. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Digging Europe’s wondrous caves

By Rick Steves

September 30, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.

Europe is rich in history, but its splendid castles, antique churches, and age-old ruins tell...

Covered and filled with paintings, Lucerne’s Chapel Bridge zigzags its way across the Reuss River. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Luzern’s lion, lake and lovely bridges

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:50 p.m.

Pretty, pristine, and perched on a lake, with a striking mountain panorama as a backdrop,...

People at BER airport as a cyber attack has caused delays, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (Carsten Koall/dpa via AP)

Cyberattack disrupts check-in systems and causes delays at major European airports

By Associated Press

September 20, 2025 at 9:36 a.m.

The disruptions to electronic systems initially reported at Brussels, Berlin's Brandenburg and London's Heathrow airports...

During Oktoberfest, Munich’s Wies’n grounds host around 15 gigantic tents, all of which operate like pop-up beer halls. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Oktoberfest: Munich’s massive kegger

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:48 p.m.

Every fall, Munich throws the planet's biggest kegger – Oktoberfest. It’s a sloppy soup of...

Bad Bunny performs on March 28, 2024, at the United Center in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/baiduhai)

Bad Bunny explains why he isn’t touring in the US

By Los Angeles Times

September 11, 2025 at 7:13 p.m.

Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny explained why he didn’t include dates in the United States...