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,...

Kelly Rizzo ("Eat Travel Rock") said that Las Vegas is a favorite weekend getaway for her. (Ben Cope/TCA)

Go away with … Kelly Rizzo

By Jae-Ha Kim

November 21, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

The host of the on-demand series "Eat Travel Rock," Kelly Rizzo is also featured on...

TSA displays items that are prohibited for carry-on travel at Chicago's Midway Airport.

Your homemade cranberry sauce could cost you time in airport security line, TSA says

By Caroline Kubzansky

November 22, 2023 at 10:02 a.m.

Holiday travel is ramping up ahead of Thanksgiving and airport security officials are urging travelers...

Taking the kids: And snaring a Black Friday-Cyber Monday travel deal

By Eileen Ogintz

November 16, 2023 at 1:38 p.m.

Are you ready? Not for the holiday hoopla, but for something that in these troubled...

Lance Bresette of Red Cliff Tribal Fish Hatchery works to restore Lake Superior's at-risk freshwater coaster brook trout population. The hatchery aims to raise 50,000 trout per year.

At Wisconsin’s northernmost point, the Red Cliff Reservation is trying to diversify tourism while preserving its native culture

By Mary Bergin

November 15, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Near the northernmost point of Wisconsin, 475 miles from Chicago, a sovereign tribal nation with...

A trip to Konopište Castle is like visiting a turn-of-the-20th-century time capsule. (Cameron Hewitt/Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Three short trips from Prague offer fascinating history

By Rick Steves

November 14, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

From its colorful Old Town square to its sumptuous Art Nouveau facades, Prague offers plenty...

EVERGLOW said their hope is to visit Disneyland on their current U.S. tour. (BAE JUNSUN STUDIO/TCA)

Go away with … EVERGLOW

By Jae-Ha Kim

November 14, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

Currently halfway through their "ALL MY GIRLS" tour of the United States – which includes...

Taking the kids: Craving time with grown kids — or others you are close to

By Eileen Ogintz

November 9, 2023 at 4:48 p.m.

The days are long gone when the kids just go along. To be fair, they...

Workers attend a rally near the Selina Hotel to protest recent layoffs on Nov. 8, 2023, in Chicago. The city announced the property will be used as a shelter for Chicago's homeless population.

Streeterville hotel to become homeless shelter as workers protest layoffs

By Jake Sheridan

March 11, 2024 at 12:25 p.m.

The city plans to open a homeless shelter in a hotel in the Streeterville neighborhood,...

Filmmaker Chris Robert Riegel said that the perfect time to visit Europe is in the autumn. (Chris Knight/TCA)

Go away with … Chris Robert Riegel

By Jae-Ha Kim

November 7, 2023 at 8:07 a.m.

Filmmaker Chris Robert Riegel ("The Big Wedding") has a lot to say about his upcoming...

A golden Prince Albert keeps watch across the street from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Exquisite London: Victoria, Albert, snuff boxes, and afternoon tea

By Rick Steves

November 7, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.

Squinting at the jeweled snuff box of Frederick the Great in London's Victoria and Albert...