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,...

Roger Bossard waters the infield at White So spring training on Feb. 24, 2015.

Spring training travel: A guide to what’s new in Arizona for Cubs and White Sox fans

By Kori Rumore

February 13, 2024 at 9:49 a.m.

When the Chicago Cubs signed papers in 1951, to make Mesa, Arizona, their new spring...

Disney’s Iger reveals 7,000 layoffs in restructuring move

By Katie Rice

February 8, 2023 at 6:25 p.m.

Disney World CEO Bob Iger revealed plans Wednesday to lay off 7,000 workers, about 3%...

Southwest Airlines planes at Midway Airport in December 2021.

Despite December flight cancellations, Southwest expects business travel to soon hit 2019 levels

By Sarah Freishtat

February 10, 2023 at 2:29 a.m.

Southwest Airlines executives expect bookings in the spring to remain strong despite the airline's widespread...

At Lincoln Landing in Rockport, Indiana, a bronze bas-relief of 19-year-old Abraham Lincoln marks the spot on the Ohio River where he departed on a flatboat trip to New Orleans.

Finding Lincoln in Indiana: A President’s Day weekend guide to Abe’s boyhood home

By Katherine Rodeghier

February 8, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Illinois proudly proclaims itself the "Land of Lincoln" on vehicle license plates and eagerly promotes...

<p><strong>> Hours lost due to traffic congestion per driver (2022):</strong> 121<br/>
<strong>> Change in hours lost from 2021:</strong> 11%<br/>
<strong>> Change in hours lost from pre-Covid:</strong> -12%<br/>
<strong>> Average speed of the last mile of each trip in city:</strong> 9 MPH<br/>
<strong>> Change in last mile average speed from 2021:</strong> 0 MPH<br/></p><p><strong><a style="color: #008000" href="https://247wallst.com/special-report/2022/12/21/the-deadliest-states-to-drive/?utm_source=tribune&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=tribune&utm_content=the-deadliest-states-to-drive&wsrlui=811985273">ALSO READ: The Most and Least Dangerous States To Drive</a></strong></p>

The most congested cities in the world

By John Harrington

February 2, 2023 at 4:10 p.m.

To determine the cities with the worst traffic congestion, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2022...

Sriprateep Paw, the owner and chef of Pad Kapaw in Sinheung Market, cooks shrimp at the restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 7, 2022. Paw, who hails from a long line of restaurateurs, prides himself on serving authentic Thai cuisine in a city that often favors Korean-Thai fusion.

Seoul searching: South Korean capital’s coolest, coziest bars are hidden from sight

By The New York Times

February 1, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Seoul gleams with glass towers and brims with centuries-old architecture, but beyond the bright lights,...

Musicians, starting with second from left, Art Jackson, Eddie Saunders, Bobby Watson, and Ahmad Alaadeen take part in a gathering to celebrate the unveiling of the Charlie Parker Memorial during a ceremony Saturday, March 27, 1999, in the historic jazz district in Kansas City, Mo.

5 Midwest cities steeped in Black history to visit in 2023

By Lauryn Azu

January 25, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Chicagoland is undeniably teeming with the stories and contributions of historic African Americans, from the...

Norbert Pikula, of Chicago, prepares to settle into a chair at O'Hare International Airport where he will spend the night on Jan. 18, 2023. Pikula had been rooming with a friend until his friend was admitted to a Veterans Affairs hospital. As a result, Pikula, who is currently homeless, began sleeping at O'Hare.

‘I had no choice’: For many homeless people, O’Hare has become a nighttime refuge

By Adriana Pérez

January 25, 2023 at 10:58 a.m.

Norbert Pikula, 77, had been sleeping on a friend's sofa every night for the last...

Wild Rice Retreat in Bayfield, Wisconsin, offers wellness experiences rooted in yoga, nature and guided healing.

In times of grief and mourning, Midwest wellness retreats offer guided healing

By Grace Wong

January 18, 2023 at 9:58 a.m.

There's an inherently healing quality to travel, particularly when it involves communes with nature and...

A painting depicts the Dickinson children, from left, Emily, Austin and Lavinia, around 1840 in a work exhibited at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, Jan. 17, 2017.

Travel into Emily Dickinson’s ‘full-color life’ with Amherst museum’s vibrant, historically correct makeover

By The New York Times

January 12, 2023 at 11:04 a.m.

"Here is our 'Wizard of Oz' moment," a guide said on a recent afternoon, before...