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,...

FILE - In this March 16, 2020, file photo, the entrance to the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is closed in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Splash Mountain ride at Disney parks in California and Florida is being recast. Disney officials said the ride would no longer be tied to the 1946 movie, "Song of the South," which many view as racist. Instead, the revamped ride will be inspired by the 2009 Disney film, "The Princess and the Frog," which has an African-American female lead. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney World: What to know before you go back

By Dewayne Bevil

July 8, 2020 at 12:54 p.m.

Dear future Walt Disney World theme parks visitor, the long-awaited reopenings are near. The next...

FILE -- President Donald Trump enters the White House briefing room in Washington, on Thursday, July 2, 2020. President Trump's abrupt travel ban for European visitors in March, which was made without consultation with European leaders and without any warning, established the climate for the current travel restrictions on the United States.

Travel restrictions on Americans erode a sense of passport privilege

By The New York Times

July 8, 2020 at 10:45 a.m.

LONDON — Five American travelers who set out for a getaway on Sardinia were turned...

Hostels try to adapt for the COVID-19 era

By The New York Times

July 8, 2020 at 10:42 a.m.

On any given night at The MadHouse hostel in Prague, as many as 30 guests...

Hostels try to adapt for the COVID-19 era

By New York Times

July 8, 2020 at 10:37 a.m.

Hostels around Europe have sat quiet and empty the past few months, absent the roars...

Thermometers in hand, Dubai opens for tourists amid pandemic

By Associated Press

July 7, 2020 at 12:06 p.m.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — From French soccer jerseys to slick online campaigns, Dubai...

Thermometers in hand, Dubai opens for tourists amid pandemic

By Associated Press

July 7, 2020 at 12:05 p.m.

From French soccer jerseys to slick online campaigns, Dubai is trumpeting the fact that it...

Sneaking a cigarette in a non-smoking room might not seem like that bad of an offense, but it's actually a huge expense and inconvenience for the hotel. Other than being <a href="https://www.theactivetimes.com/healthy-living/cancer-causing-habits-stop-immediately">unhealthy and dangerous</a>, this habit can affect other guests from secondhand smoke. Cigarette smoke can also invade the linens and cloth of the furniture. Hotel staff have little patience for those who break this rule, so they could kick you out if they catch you, on top of assessing a cleaning fee.

Why is Candlewood Suites charging me a $250 cleaning fee? Travel Troubleshooter investigates.

By King Features Syndicate

July 7, 2020 at 11:26 a.m.

Why is Candlewood Suites charging Annika Pigford a $250 cleaning fee? Does she have any...

A TOUCH-BUY POLICY IN MIAMI BEACH | Pictured: Store policies for entry are posted at the Pelé Soccer store on Lincoln Road, May 20, 2020, in Miami Beach. The city has begun to allow the reopening of nonessential retail and personal grooming businesses, as well as offices and museums.

Cruise CEOs insist ships are safe, prepare new health protocols

By Bloomberg News

July 7, 2020 at 11:15 a.m.

Two of the world's largest cruise operators insist their ships are no more vulnerable to...

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 24, 2020, file photo, Southwest airlines employee Oscar Gonzalez, right, assists a passenger at the ticket counter at Love Field in Dallas. In a report, Thursday, July 2, 2020, the government is recommending that travelers wear face coverings during air travel and says airlines should consider limiting capacity on planes to promote social distancing. But it stopped short of making new requirements. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

COVID-19 has affected air travel for nearly four months. The next four could shape it even more.

By Dallas Morning News

July 6, 2020 at 12:20 p.m.

During April's pandemic low point, passengers posted selfies on empty planes and airlines put unoccupied...

A deliciously gooey grilled cheese sandwich — made with pepper jack cheese and raspberry jam on wheat berry bread — is accompanied by a bowl of beef noodle soup at the Red Room in downtown Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

In southwest Wisconsin, visitors chow down on cheese, but also on a local specialty: Grilled cheese sandwiches

By Jay Jones

July 5, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

The Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, less than three hours from Chicago, was...