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,...

En route to Salt Spring Island, one of the many islands reachable by ferry from the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada, Oct. 7, 2024. The largest city in British Columbia makes a perfect gateway to explore the rich marine wildlife and beauty of the region. (Jennilee Marigomen/The New York Times)

Coastal getaways from Vancouver offer panoramic mountain views and open Pacific waters

By Nikkita Nair

November 13, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The largest city in British Columbia makes a perfect gateway to explore the rich marine...

Thermaculture in Minneapolis offers social sauna experiences. (Explore Minnesota)

As dreary weather sets in, head to Minnesota to experience its Nordic sauna culture

By Caroline Eubanks

November 6, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Long before saunas became an essential part of hotel gyms, fitness clubs and spas, they...

Subway Cave opens out to a breathtaking scene of flushed red and burnt orange strata in Sedona, Ariz., Oct. 1, 2024. On a trip to the Arizona town a writer tries to understand her mystically inclined mother's beliefs with the help of crystals, meditation and visits to the area's supposed celestial portals. (Nate Abbott/The New York Times)

In Sedona, a psychic and a skeptic walk into a vortex

By Erin Vivid Riley

October 30, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

On a trip to Arizona, a writer tries to understand her mystically inclined mother with...

Pam Carroll, owner, president and CEO of Palos Hills-based travel agency Gadabout Travel, in Lisbon, Portugal. (Company photo)

Column: South suburban travel agents say book now to get the best winter holiday travel deals

By Francine Knowles

November 5, 2024 at 11:36 a.m.

Corrine Wilkerson, of MacTravel Services in Homewood, and Pam Carroll, of Gadabout Travel in Palos...

FILE – An American Airlines jetliner rumbles down a runway at Denver International Airport, Jan. 16, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

American Airlines tests boarding technology that audibly shames line cutters

By Associated Press

October 26, 2024 at 1:36 p.m.

The technology alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan...

Nadia Hussien, left, is greeted by her sister-in-law, Zuhdieh Hussien, while gathering with relatives at her brother Adnan's home, Oct. 11, 2024, in Homer Glen. Hussien, 80, and her brother are traveling back to their home in Beitunia in the West Bank, in part, to tend to the olive trees on their property despite the potential dangers and travel complications caused by the Israel-Hamas war. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Pressing ahead: Amid war in Gaza, some Chicago-area Palestinians risking travel to homeland for olive harvest season

By Zareen Syed

October 25, 2024 at 11:25 a.m.

For some, olive trees are the lifeblood of Palestinian culture, representing so much more than...

Volunteers tally votes on a new contract offer from Boeing, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Seattle Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Boeing factory workers vote to reject contract and continue 6-week strike

By David Koenig

October 23, 2024 at 10:34 p.m.

Boeing factory workers have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue...

A Peru Hop bus travels through the desert of the Paracas National Reserve, a protected area near Ica, Peru, Aug. 23, 2024. The roughly decade-old Peru Hop service lets travelers choose a bus route and then decide how much time they want to spend at each stop along the way. (Angela Ponce/The New York Times)

To really see Peru, hop on (and off) the bus instead of flying between cities

By Mya Guarnieri

October 23, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Most travelers fly between cities like Lima, Cuzco and Arequipa, but if you want to...

Monsters Unchained -- The Frankenstein Experiment will be part of the Dark Universe land at Epic Universe theme park when it opens next year. (Universal Orlando)

It’s official: Universal sets Epic Universe’s opening date

By Dewayne Bevil

October 22, 2024 at 10:47 a.m.

Grand opening day for Epic Universe theme park will be May 22, Universal Orlando announced...

FILE – Guests pass a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Disney to debut new Lightning Lane Premier Pass this month, but it’s going to cost you

By Michelle Chapman

October 16, 2024 at 4:57 p.m.

Disney said that its Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which will be available in limited quantities,...