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,...

Italians flock to beaches, hoping tourists will follow

By The New York Times

May 28, 2020 at 10:45 a.m.

GIUGLIANO IN CAMPANIA, Italy — The lifeguard turned his back to the water and looked...

Italians flock to beaches, hoping tourists will follow

By The New York Times

May 28, 2020 at 10:42 a.m.

As the temperatures rise, sun-starved Europeans are desperate to get to the beach and tourism-starved...

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 24, 2020 file photo, a passenger wears a mask as he arrives at Heathrow Airport. The European Union on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 says its vaunted tourism industry is facing decline due to the coronavirus crisis while Internal market Commissioner Thierry Breton says it should be the prime sector to receive over a fifth of all recovery funds. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Thinking about flying? Here’s what you need to know now

By The New York Times

May 28, 2020 at 10:41 a.m.

On Friday, the Transportation Security Administration screened 348,673 people at American airports, the most since...

In this March 12, 2020, file photo, a crowd is shown along Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. As Walt Disney World prepares to allow some third-party shops and restaurants to open at its entertainment complex later this week, it's posting a warning.

Disney wants to reopen Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom July 11. SeaWorld aims for June 11. Masks and temperature checks required.

By Dewayne Bevil

May 28, 2020 at 4:49 p.m.

Walt Disney World plans to reopen its four theme parks in two phases in July,...

Southwest agrees to refund for canceled flight but doesn’t include early check-in fee

By Christopher Elliott

May 27, 2020 at 11:18 a.m.

Southwest Airlines canceled my flight from Baltimore to Las Vegas in April. I was supposed...

The latest trend in vacation rentals: Long-term stays

By The New York Times

May 27, 2020 at 10:04 a.m.

Within 24 hours of President Donald Trump's European travel ban in March, Laura Jones had...

Rick Steves: Foraging Europe’s markets for the perfect picnic

By Rick Steves

May 26, 2020 at 5:24 p.m.

Although we've had to postpone trips to Europe due to the pandemic, I believe a...

A trip to Walberswick, England, a village on the Suffolk Coast just a few hours from London, leads to simple pleasures, such as a walk on a dirt path.

Daydreaming of the next trip: An English village in Suffolk waits, unchanged

By James Lileks

May 26, 2020 at 3:12 p.m.

Walberswick, Suffolk, England: It's a tiny village on the coast that checks off every requisite...

With its buildings, gridded street plan, and frescoed art remarkably intact, Pompeii offers the best look anywhere at life in an ancient Roman town.

Rick Steves: Pompeii — Italy’s frozen-in-time Roman city

By Rick Steves

May 26, 2020 at 1:42 p.m.

Although we've had to postpone trips to Europe because of the pandemic, I believe a...

FILE -- The American Museum of Natural History in New York, July 27, 2019. Facing severe financial losses as a result of the pandemic, the American Museum of Natural History announced on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, that it would cut its full-time staff by about 200 people, amounting to dozens of layoffs.

US museums are reopening: To see Monet, don a mask

By The New York Times

May 25, 2020 at 12:15 p.m.

You won't be able to use the drinking fountains, check your coat or eat in...