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 240th anniversary of America's decisive Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown will be celebrated Oct. 16-19 with a multi-day salute of events and activities at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Yorktown Battlefield and Historic Yorktown. Courtesy of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

Taking the kids: Theme parks and swimming pools; camping trips, city sights and a history lesson!

By Eileen Ogintz

March 12, 2024 at 12:01 p.m.

Don't groan. Depending on where you are going this summer, you can effortlessly inject a...

Plitvice became Croatia?s first national park in 1949, and it continues to dazzle visitors today with its accessible walkways and otherworldly vistas. (Cameron Hewitt/Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: The misty splendor of Croatia’s Plitvice lakes

By Rick Steves

July 4, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.

In Croatia's rugged interior, a stone's throw from the Bosnian border, hides one of Europe's...

Singer Belinda Carlisle said she prefers adventurous trips while her husband likes luxurious vacations. (Nick Spanos/TCA)

Go away with … Belinda Carlisle

By Jae-Ha Kim

July 4, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.

When Belinda Carlisle was a little girl, she dreamed of becoming a travel agent. "The...

Customers line up for samples at the Mustard Museum.

Hot dog! National Mustard Museum is an enthusiast’s wacky dream come true

By Sherry Spitsnaugle

July 3, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.

I strode into Wisconsin's National Mustard Museum with a mission: to sample and stock up...

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, Dec. 15, 2021, in Washington.

Passengers were stuck because United Airlines canceled their flights. The CEO took a private plane

By Associated Press

July 3, 2023 at 8:52 a.m.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby apologized for hopping on a private plane to get out...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks.

The wait for passports is creating travel purgatory and snarling summer plans

By Associated Press

July 3, 2023 at 6:55 a.m.

Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a...

Air travelers wait in line for security check-in at Terminal 1 for United Airlines flights at O'Hare International Airport Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

As if air travel isn’t hard enough, 5G wireless signals could disrupt flights starting this weekend

By Associated Press

July 1, 2023 at 8:48 a.m.

Airline passengers who have endured tens of thousands of weather-related flight delays this week could...

Travelers use their electronic devices while laying on the floor of the departures area of Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, in New York. Travelers waited out widespread delays at U.S. airports on Tuesday, an ominous sign heading into the long July 4 holiday weekend, which is shaping up as the biggest test yet for airlines that are struggling to keep up with surging numbers of passengers. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Taking the kids: Surviving air travel this summer

By Eileen Ogintz

June 29, 2023 at 4:58 p.m.

Here we go again! Tens of thousands of air travelers were recently delayed largely as...

Pikes Peak, known to many as "America's Mountain," can be experienced in a plethora of ways, including by bike, train and foot.

Peak excitement: Ditch the car and explore ‘America’s Mountain’ by foot, bike and train

By Lori Rackl

March 12, 2024 at 12:01 p.m.

The panoramic views from the top of Pikes Peak inspired English professor Katharine Lee Bates...

Squash Blossom Vintage owner Molly Leary with her two daughters.

Go away with … Molly Leary

By Jae-Ha Kim

June 27, 2023 at 4:11 p.m.

For Molly Leary, giving up her music career in Austin to move back to California's...