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,...

The Temple of Isis at Philae, on the island of Agrikia, Egypt is a frequent stop for Nile cruise boats, although passengers must transfer to a small boat to visit the picturesque temple. (Marla Jo Fisher/Orange County Register)

17 tips for having a great cruise down the Nile River in Egypt

By Marla Jo Fisher

February 5, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Cruising down Africa's longest river is one of the most popular tourist activities in Egypt....

President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Trump blames diversity hiring as investigation into deadly midair collision begins

By Zeke Miller

January 30, 2025 at 5:21 p.m.

As the nation reeled from the deadliest American aviation disaster in more than two decades,...

A crash site involving an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army helicopter in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, seen from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, on Jan. 30, 2025. An American Airlines jet carrying 64 people plunged into the Potomac River after colliding in midair with an Army helicopter on Wednesday night. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

What we know about the fatal crash of an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter

By Hallie Golden

February 1, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.

An American Airlines plane hit an Army helicopter near Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Wednesday night,...

The half-mile-long Magens Bay Beach, in the Northside area of St. Thomas, is one of the most family-friendly beaches in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism)

US Virgin Islands offer an easy escape from the drudgery of Chicago’s winter

By Amy Bizzarri

January 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The islands boast year-round tropical weather, white sand beaches and turquoise waters along with historic...

A. Sunda leopard cat is seen in Deramakot, a forest reserve on the Malaysian side of the island of Borneo. This Southeast Asian island, home to some of the world's strangest and most iconic creatures, is a dream destination for a growing number of "mammal watchers." (Mihir Zaveri/The New York Times)

Great apes and tiny bears: Chasing wild thrills in Borneo

By Mihir Zaveri

January 22, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The Southeast Asian island, home to some of the world’s strangest and most iconic creatures,...

A man sits on a rock overlooking the Taipei 101 tower, once the world's tallest building, and the Taipei, Taiwan, skyline, Jan. 7, 2020. (Carl Court/Getty)

Return to Taipei: A mom-and-daughter trip to Taiwan’s relaxed capital city highlights its creature comforts

By Amber Gibson

February 7, 2025 at 1:46 p.m.

In Taiwan's relaxed capital, it's easy to pamper yourself, especially with culinary delights at dessert...

Wandering closer to a set of pictographs near Antelope House Ruin for a photo. (Derek M. Norman / The New York Times)

A journey into 5,000 years of history at Canyon de Chelly national monument in northeast Arizona

By Derek M. Norman

January 8, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Going on a tour in the heart of the Navajo Nation takes you to ancient...

Brooklyn residents Amir Watson, right, and Promise Houston ride bikes on Madison Street on Nov. 24, 2024. Brooklyn, Illinois, is considered to be one of the country's first Black settlements, the first majority-Black town in America to incorporate and the oldest such town still in existence today. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

America’s oldest Black town is in Illinois — and it’s dying. But the fight has begun to save it.

By Jonathan Bullington

January 6, 2025 at 5:42 p.m.

America’s oldest Black town is Brooklyn, Illinois. Once an Underground Railroad stop, it’s now dying....

A woman is carried on a stretcher near the site of a plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

2 dead and 18 injured in Southern California plane crash

By Jaimie Ding

January 2, 2025 at 9:20 p.m.

Two people died and 18 were injured Thursday when a small plane crashed through the...

The Northern Lights briefly appear over a housing subdivision on May 10, 2024, in Kildeer. Mackinaw City, Michigan, and Bayfield, Wisconsin, are “trending destinations” for aurora borealis viewing in the Midwest. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Booking ahead: Astro tourism, cooler destinations and a passion for pickleball are trending for travel in 2025

By Lori Rackl

January 1, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Travelers are looking to avoid the crowds and avoid the heat while chasing the northern...