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,...

A photo provided by Danny Eyerman and Molly McDonald shows a hiker on Siler Bald, a mountain along the Appalachian Trail in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. Just as the annual hiking season was beginning this spring, the coronavirus pandemic has devastated trail towns up and down the East Coast, created rifts in a tight-knit community and left hikers, small businesses and the trail's caretakers facing almost impossible questions.

How the pandemic splintered the Appalachian Trail

By The New York Times

May 22, 2020 at 11:29 a.m.

When Kelsey Foster started hiking the Appalachian Trail in early March, she had left her...

Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard is thronged with traffic and pedestrians on Saturday, May 16, 2020 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. With hotels, beaches, shopping and restaurants reopening along the Grand Strand, tourist season kicked off this weekend despite coronavirus concerns. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP)

Americans venture out for holiday travel in test of containment

By Alan Levin

May 22, 2020 at 10:22 a.m.

Americans are fleeing weeks of home isolation for beaches, parks and other leisure destinations over...

Yosemite Falls seen without people due to the park closure on April 11, 2020. The trail is empty leading to Yosemite Falls in Yosemite Park due to the closure. Yosemite National Park is closed to visitors due to the coronavirus, Covid 19. Animals roam the park without having to worry about crowds of people. Madera County on Saturday, April 11, 2020 in Yosemite National Park, CA.

Yosemite National Park reopening plan includes fewer visitors, required reservations

By Carmen George

May 22, 2020 at 10:20 a.m.

FRESNO, Calif. — Reservations will be required to visit Yosemite National Park when the popular...

Passengers, almost all wearing facemasks, board an American Airlines flight to Charlotte, on May 3, 2020, in New York City. - The wearing of masks to protect against the coronavirus has become such a sensitive issue in the United States that airlines are struggling to impose the practice on defiant travelers in the enclosed environment of an airplane. (Photo by Eleonore SENS / AFP) (Photo by ELEONORE SENS/AFP via Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

Should you fly yet? An epidemiologist and an exposure scientist walk you through the decision process

By Associated Press

May 22, 2020 at 10:19 a.m.

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic...

Guests stroll at Universal CityWalk on Thursday, May 14, 2020. Universal began limited operation at select venues in CityWalk last week. They are also limiting capacity at venues and increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures due to the coronavirus.

Universal Orlando asks to reopen theme parks in June

By Stephen Hudak

May 22, 2020 at 10:03 a.m.

Universal Orlando is targeting June 5 — just two weeks away — as the day...

Tony Mucerino, left, owner of Hometown RV, speaks with customer Walt Pietrus at his Carol Stream business on May 19, 2020. Mucerino has been in the RV business since 1989 and has seen a lot of ups and downs over the years.

Demand for RVs grows as coronavirus crisis changes the way we travel. ‘I can see so many people doing it this summer.’

By Lori Rackl

May 20, 2020 at 7:46 p.m.

An avid traveler who's flown all over the world, Pam Katz admits she was a...

Go Away With … Alyshia Ochse

By Jae-Ha Kim

May 20, 2020 at 12:05 p.m.

Based out of West Hollywood, Alyshia Ochse enjoys keeping busy. Her latest series, "#FreeRayshawn" is...

Guests take pictures at Disney Springs in Orlando on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Walt Disney World's sprawling shopping and dining complex is beginning the first phase of getting back to business with 44 establishments welcoming the public during the Coronavirus epidemic. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Pictures: Disney Springs reopens

By Contributed Content

May 22, 2020 at 1:31 p.m.

Check out pictures as Disney Springs reopens with 44 stores and restaurants, plus new rules...

This 2018 photo shows a natural meadow near Alkali Lake in Mono County.

Sierra Nevada towns fear tourists will bring coronavirus with them

By Jaclyn Cosgrove

May 19, 2020 at 4:40 p.m.

The Sierra Nevada towns that dot Alpine County, Calif., have no hospital. Nor do they...

Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travelers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat. Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of health and business, authorities are introducing measures to reassure visitors that taking a holiday is safe again.

Beaches, nightclubs? Europe mulls how to get tourists back

By Associated Press

June 23, 2020 at 4:20 p.m.

Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing...