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...

Brexit hasn’t ruined your trip to the United Kingdom — but it has added some wrinkles. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: How Brexit has impacted your trip to the UK

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:47 p.m.

It’s been nine years since Brexit, when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European...

The Rev. Manuel Dorantes walks the grounds of Borgo Laudato Si’ on May 20, 2025, outside Rome. Dorantes moved from serving in Chicago to Italy after being appointed by Pope Francis as the administrative management director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education in 2024. The 165-acre property next to the pope’s summer home, Castel Gandolfo, includes historic gardens, monuments and new areas for organic farming and education. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Chicago priest to lead Vatican sustainable farming project that will include restaurant by Art Smith and Phil Stefani

By Angie Leventis Lourgos

September 5, 2025 at 5:10 p.m.

The Rev. Manuel Dorantes, who immigrated to Waukegan from Mexico as a child, serves as...

In Porto, flat-bottom boats called “rabelos” are a frequent sight along the Douro River. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Porto: Portugal’s surprising ‘Second City’

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:45 p.m.

I'm really into “second cities” these days. For generations, Industrial Age powerhouses in Europe turned...

FILE – Frontline healthcare workers hold a demonstration on Labor Day outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Hollywood in Los Angeles, Sep. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Labor Day weekend has arrived. What to know about the holiday.

By Jamie Stengle

August 29, 2025 at 6:47 p.m.

The holiday with activist roots is celebrated on the first Monday of September, creating a...

Visitors to Uppsala Cathedral will find a different take on the Virgin Mary with this lifelike statue, called “Mary (The Return).” (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Uppsala: Where a fun-loving vibe complements big history

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:43 p.m.

Uppsala, Sweden’s fourth-largest city, is the best day-trip from Stockholm – it’s just under an...

Southwest Airlines jets parked at Midway International Airport, July 25, 2024, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Southwest Airlines’ new policy will affect plus-size travelers. Here’s how.

By Rio Yamat

August 25, 2025 at 3:46 p.m.

Southwest Airlines will soon require travelers who can’t fit within the armrests of their seat...

Visitors to Napoleon’s tomb can lean over the railing and bow to the emperor. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Tracking Napoleon’s rise and fall in Paris

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:41 p.m.

I can’t think of any two people more prominent in the minds of French citizens...

General manager Anna Rafalski and sous chef Jason Garland, right, add coarse salt to family-style platters of the season's first tomatoes with peaches and kale pesto during a supper in a greenhouse at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, on Aug. 7, 2025. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Culinary road trips: 5 farm dinners worth the drive

By Nicole Schnitzler

August 18, 2025 at 3:12 p.m.

Farms across the Midwest are inviting us to come to them, opening their dining rooms...

Ayo has been cooking up beachside paella for decades in Nerja, Spain. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Swizzle your travels with European seaside bars

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:39 p.m.

August is vacation time in Europe. Entire towns seem to shut down as locals head...

Thousands turned out as the Mall of America with 350 stores opened in Bloomington, Minn. on Aug. 11, 1992. The area shown is the rotunds of the $625 million mall, which occupies the site of the former Met stadium, home of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Today in History: Mall of America opens

By Associated Press

August 11, 2025 at 4:00 a.m.

On Aug. 11, 1992, the Mall of America, the nation’s largest shopping and entertainment center, opened...