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,...

Roy's Motel and Café is a motel, cafe, and gas station, currently being restored in the ghost town of Amboy, California, on Route 66, June 3, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Route 66 road trip: Visiting a desert ghost town in Amboy, California

By Jonathan Bullington

June 13, 2025 at 3:22 p.m.

Situated along Route 66, Amboy, Calif. once boasted 200 residents, three gas stations, three motels,...

Visitors pose for pictures at the Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends, on June 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Route 66 road trip: The end of the road at a pier in Santa Monica, California

By Jonathan Bullington

June 13, 2025 at 3:18 p.m.

A Route 66 sign, perched on a pole at the famed Santa Monica pier, advertises...

Travelers check in at the United Airlines counter in Terminal 1 at O’Hare International Airport on Nov. 26, 2024. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

United adding flights from Chicago to warm-weather locales this fall

May 30, 2025 at 11:47 a.m.

The airline will add 50 flights in November from Chicago, including expanded service to Phoenix,...

One Century, One Road: Route 66, ‘The Main Street of America,’ turns 100

By baiduhai

June 10, 2025 at 3:04 p.m.

Ahead of next year's anniversary, the baiduhai will set out across Route 66 to...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announces a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Transportation secretary pushes multibillion-dollar plan to overhaul air traffic control system

By Associated Press

May 28, 2025 at 2:59 p.m.

The problems that disrupted flights at New Jersey's largest airport this spring could be repeated anywhere across...

A traveller collects a boarding pass at one of the check-in kiosks at the Southwest Airlines counter in the main terminal of Denver International Airport Friday, May 23, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

United is narrowing its check-in window for US flights. Here’s how it compares to other airlines.

By Wyatte Grantham-Philips

May 28, 2025 at 8:54 a.m.

Stragglers beware: U.S. travelers flying with United Airlines will have to check in to domestic...

FILE – A Southwest Airlines traveler checks a bag at Midway International Airport, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Final boarding call for free bags at Southwest as airline abandons a cherished perk

By Michelle Chapman

May 27, 2025 at 8:16 a.m.

It’s the last day to book a flight on Southwest Airlines without being hit with...

People take in a DJ set at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on May 17, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Las Vegas luring millennials, Gen-Z visitors with pool parties, craft cocktails, influencer experiences

By Las Vegas Review-Journal

May 23, 2025 at 11:35 a.m.

Nearly half of Las Vegas' visitors last year were millennials or Gen-Z, according to the...

In this long exposure photograph traffic moves along Interstate 76 ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, in Philadelphia, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Memorial Day travel rush is off to an early start

By Jamie Stengle

May 22, 2025 at 5:12 p.m.

The Memorial Day travel rush is on. Americans are expected to get away in record...

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

What we know about a private plane’s fatal crash into a San Diego neighborhood

By John Hanna

May 22, 2025 at 8:24 p.m.

Authorities say a private plane clipped power lines before slamming into a home in San...