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,...

Map: Animated GIF shows weekly expected changes in color of leaves by county in the United States

Where and when to see peak fall foliage in Illinois and the Midwest

By Kori Rumore

September 9, 2024 at 6:35 a.m.

Northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin could see peak leaf color in mid-October.

The debris at the site where an airplane crashed with 61 people on board, in Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, early on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024. Brazilian authorities are working to piece together what exactly caused the plane crash in Sao Paulo state the previous day, killing all 61 people aboard. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Cockpit audio indicates de-icing problems in deadly Brazil plane crash last month, investigators say

By Gabriela Sá Pessoa

September 6, 2024 at 6:25 p.m.

Investigators say the pilots of a Brazilian passenger plane that crashed last month, killing all...

Too many people, not enough management: A look at the chaos of ‘overtourism’ in 2024

By Laurie Kellman

September 4, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Tourism is surging and shifting so quickly, in fact, that some experts say the very...

Caroline Eubanks, center, with siblings Rae, left, and Sammi took a family trip to Santa Barbara and a photo for their mom. (Caroline Eubanks)

A siblings-only trip offers a way to expand adult relationships, but planning is key

By Caroline Eubanks

August 30, 2024 at 2:54 p.m.

Adult sibling relationships require work. Traveling together can challenge the status quo and push you...

Swimmers in La Parguera Bay, one of Puerto Rico's three bioluminescent bays. (Discover Puerto Rico)

Bioluminescent bays, where tiny organisms light up the water, add spark to any trip to Puerto Rico

By Terri Colby

August 28, 2024 at 5:19 p.m.

Puerto Rico's three bio bays, where microscopic organisms glow when they are agitated, draw many...

Two people hug goodbye as traffic congestion builds around parking structures at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Travelers are getting a head start on the long Labor Day weekend

By David Koenig

August 30, 2024 at 3:30 p.m.

Airports, highways, beaches and theme parks are expected to be packed across the U.S. this...

The Cottage at Bunker Hill Farms has six suites and a wraparound porch. (Bunker Hill Farms)

This invitation-only luxury resort in Woodstock is now open to the public as a way to help charities

By Danielle Braff

August 24, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Starting at $1,150 per day, Bunker Hill Farms carries a steep price tag, but proceeds...

A dining area is set up at Agriturismo La Vecchia Chioderia, near Menaggio, Italy, in July 2024. Double rooms at Agriturismo La Vecchia Chioderia, near Lake Como, start at €60 ($65.95) and include breakfast. (Andrea Wyner/The New York Times)

Not Hollywood royalty? Here’s how to enjoy Lake Como on the cheap

By Valeriya Safronova

August 21, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

There are a range of ways to save money while visiting the famous, mountain-ringed lake...

Kevin McCarthy, of Momence, stands outside Los Portales restaurant in Chicago Heights on Aug. 7, 2024, in front of a giant fiberglass cow placed outside of the restaurant on Chicago Road for decades. McCarthy, an advertising giant enthusiast, recently helped track down the fate of a giant fiberglass Frank-n-Stein statue that once stood outside a restaurant in Gary, Indiana. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

Landmarks: Fiberglass advertising giants having ‘a bit of a Renaissance’

By Paul Eisenberg

August 11, 2024 at 5:15 a.m.

Fresh of an effort to save Wilmington's Gemini Giant, nostalgia enthusiasts are hoping to recreate...

Swifties trade bracelets in the city center in Vienna on Aug. 8, 2024. Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in the stadium in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch a terrorist attack at or near the event. (Heinz-Peter Bader/AP)

‘We can do it with broken hearts’: Chicago-area Swiftie sisters make most of canceled Taylor Swift concert in Vienna

By Rebecca Johnson

August 8, 2024 at 3:50 p.m.

Organizers called off three sold-out Eras Tour concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium Wednesday after...