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,...

From left: Ian Chang, Ryan Lott and Rafiq Bhatia of Son Lux. (Jes Nijjer/TCA)

Go away with … Ian Chang of Son Lux

By Jae-Ha Kim

May 9, 2023 at 6:00 a.m.

Son Lux received a scoring nomination – the first band since the Beatles – at...

Mothering and being mothered can teach you a lot.

Taking the kids: What moms and grandmas really want for Mother’s Day

By Eileen Ogintz

May 4, 2023 at 1:49 p.m.

Flowers are nice, so is a fancy brunch, a heartfelt card and a box of...

President Sonat Birnecker, left, and her husband, CEO and master distiller Robert Birnecker hold bottles of their gin and whiskey at the KOVAL distillery Jan. 17, 2017, in the Ravenswood neighborhood.

Mother’s Day staycation: Your ultimate girls’ weekend in Chicago

By Julia Beck

May 3, 2023 at 7:44 a.m.

There was an era of motherhood when any version of time away from the whack-a-mole...

Papers of the late Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens are displayed, including his notes during Bush v. Gore, that will be made available to researchers at the Library of Congress, in Washington, May 1, 2023.

Chicago-born Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens’ private papers open to public at Library of Congress

By Associated Press

May 22, 2026 at 7:50 p.m.

A wide-ranging selection of papers that belonged to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is...

Wrought-iron staircases and arched windows were part of an effort to make the plant less intimidating to visitors paying their electric bills at a time when many people were nervous about introducing electricity in their homes.

A stunning new way to see Niagara Falls

By Colleen Thomas

April 25, 2023 at 10:44 a.m.

The grandeur of Niagara Falls keeps tourists seeking new and better views of the natural...

A railroad bridge outside Muncie, Indiana, is now part of a converted bicycle path, where cyclists enjoy a ride. on Sept. 14, 2022.

Rails to trails: How converted railroad paths became great escapes for cyclists, from the Great American to The 606

By John Carpenter

April 19, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the responses I got when I told...

The Mykonos Riviera Hotel and Spa in Greece, where about 1 in 5 visitors now bring their children. Parents fed up with being cooped up have driven a pandemic surge in family trips, and properties from Mexico to the Poconos are getting makeovers to meet the demand.

Go on, take the kids to Mykonos: Adult resorts open up to families

By The New York Times

April 12, 2023 at 6:12 a.m.

For six years, the Grand Fiesta Americana in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, catered to guests looking...

Maryland last year earmarked up to $1.2 billion in public financing for renovations to the two-stadium Camden Yards complex, half of which would go toward Oriole Park. Gov. Wes Moore and the Orioles recently said, in a joint statement, they hope to re-imagine the area and "deliver a live, work, play theme" that attracts residents and tourists year-round.

A ballpark district in Baltimore? As Maryland, Orioles mull Camden Yards upgrades, Atlanta suburb could be a model.

By Hayes Gardner

April 7, 2023 at 4:28 p.m.

Thirty years ago, a generation of ballparks was born in downtown Baltimore. Last month, the...

This combination of photos shows the path of the sun during a total eclipse by the moon, Aug. 21, 2017, near Redmond, Ore.

Save the date: One year until total solar eclipse sweeps US

By Associated Press

April 1, 2024 at 6:04 p.m.

Dust off your eclipse glasses: It's only a year until a total solar eclipse sweeps...

For travelers 16 and older, a U.S. passport is good for 10 years.

Hoping to travel abroad? Don’t put off your passport application.

By Isabella Kwai

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

With international travel beckoning this summer, Americans applying for new or renewed passports will have...