Travel

The Chicago skyline backdrops the Chicago Jazz Festival at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion on Sept. 4, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Conde Nast Traveler readers name Chicago ‘Best Big City’ for 10th year in a row

By Robert Channick

October 6, 2026 at 3:25 p.m.

Conde Nast Traveler received nearly 800,000 votes for this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, which cover...

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,...

WAIT FOR A SPORTING EVENTS | <a href="https://www.theactivetimes.com/extreme-weather-pro-sports-athletes"target="_blank">Pro athletes have endured a lot</a> for the sake of the game, however this global health pandemic has upended the spring and summer sporting season. Currently, Major League Baseball has not announced a ticket refund policy, and the league intends to play as many games as possible when the season begins. The NHL and NBA have both been similarly mum on refund policies as they navigate the possibility of a season with empty stands and stadiums.

Celebrity Travel: Go away with … Cheryl B. Engelhardt

By Jae-Ha Kim

September 17, 2020 at 2:20 p.m.

Cheryl B. Engelhardt recorded her current album "Luminary" -- a Grammy contender for Best New...

Rick Steves’ Europe: Today’s Berlin: Freedom’s victory dance

By Rick Steves

September 17, 2020 at 10:44 a.m.

As we've had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly...

Thinking of a staycation? Here are 8 of Chicago’s most Instagrammable short-term rentals.

By Darcel Rockett

September 22, 2020 at 4:14 p.m.

With new COVID-19 cases going up in Michigan and Wisconsin, you might want to vacation...

ARCADIA NATIONAL PARK (MAINE) | Fall colors in Acadia National Park, Maine, with colorful trees reflected in the water.

Stunning sights in national parks during peak fall foliage

By Active Times

August 4, 2024 at 2:49 p.m.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK (MAINE) | The trees with beautiful fall colors surround a stone arch...

Skiers from the Tommy Bartlett Show in Wisconsin Dells perform the classic "pyramid" finale on Lake Delton in 2009.

Wisconsin Dells’ Tommy Bartlett water ski show, closed by coronavirus, is shutting down for good

By Associated Press

September 17, 2020 at 2:19 p.m.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced an iconic Wisconsin Dells-area water ski show to shut down...

Carnival Cruise Line announces 2 more ships leaving fleet

By Richard Tribou

September 16, 2020 at 10:41 a.m.

Carnival Cruise Line announced another two ships leaving its fleet in the fallout from the...

A guest dons an inflated pumpkin costume on Main Street, U.S.A., in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Disney Co. announced Tuesday they are laying off 28,000 employees in the U.S. due to the downturn in visitors to their parks and resorts caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)

Pictures: Halloween 2020 at Disney’s Magic Kingdom

By Contributed Content

September 30, 2020 at 5:31 p.m.

Scenes of Halloween from the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with Halloween-themed characters, guests,...

Rental websites like Airbnb and Vrbo have updated their cancellation policies in light of the pandemic. For example, Airbnb has an extenuating circumstances policy that might make your stay eligible for cancellation without charges. If you have tested positive for the virus or if the area you're staying in has enforced travel restrictions, you can cancel your Airbnb reservation free of charge if you booked your stay on or before March 14, 2020, or have a check-in date between March 14, 2020, and Sept. 15, 2020.

If Airbnb isn’t safe, can I get a refund? Travel Troubleshooter investigates.

By Christopher Elliott

September 15, 2020 at 2:24 p.m.

Adam Gonia and his wife check into -- and out of -- a vacation rental...

Ed Perkins on Travel: Travel planning: Fall 2020

By Ed Perkins

September 14, 2020 at 10:38 a.m.

If you're anything like I am, you're both (1) caged up at home for the...

A truck crosses the Blue Water Bridge into Port Huron, Mich., from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The Canada-U.S. border was closed to non-essential traffic in both directions "by mutual consent," the leaders of both countries said at the time amid efforts across the continent to contain COVID-19.

Many Canadian snowbirds are delaying Florida visits until COVID-19 eases

By David Lyons

September 18, 2020 at 11:55 a.m.

As if COVID-19 hasn't done enough damage to South Florida's tourism industry, many Canadians who...