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 Las Vegas Strip and skyline, including various hotels and casinos, seen at night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Las Vegas visitors paid highest room rates ever in September

By Las Vegas Review-Journal

October 31, 2022 at 8:38 a.m.

Visitors to Las Vegas paid the highest room rates in history in September, the Las...

Passengers on the Napaway sleeper coach before the bus departs Washington, D.C., on an overnight trip to Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 14, 2022.

Goodbye, planes, trains and automobiles. Hello, luxury bus?

By The New York Times

October 25, 2022 at 1:28 p.m.

John Rosenberg found a last-minute flight for $200 last month from Washington, D.C., to Nashville,...

The best airlines for holiday travel on points

By NerdWallet

October 27, 2022 at 1:58 p.m.

If you're seeing Halloween decorations at the store, you should take that as a sign...

Towering granite surrounds the Cathedral Spires Trail in Custer State Park.

You don’t have to leave the Midwest for a great RV destination. Here are 7 sites to check out.

By Robert Annis

October 20, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

All too often, RV owners point their mobile homes west and don't stop until they...

Is inflation affecting travel points and miles?

By NerdWallet

October 19, 2022 at 8:34 a.m.

After years of unusually low prices on airfare and vacation rentals during the pandemic, travel...

Fall in Grafton Notch State Park in Maine on Sept. 29, 2022. AccuWeather predicts that peak colors in places like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and northern New York will come late this year, in mid- to late October.

How to time your leaf-peeping trip this fall

By The New York Times

October 19, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

Planning a pilgrimage to enjoy the brilliant fall leaves will be trickier this year. Months...

This scenic meadow is a highlight of the Loew Lake segment of the Ice Age Trail, near Holy Hill.

National Scenic Trails are an elite category of 11 hiking paths — and the Midwest has 2 of them

By Melanie Radzicki Mcmanus

October 12, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

Thanks to a dearth of mountainous terrain, the Midwest typically isn't viewed as a prime...

A favorite trek along the North Country Trail in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is its section winding past O-Kun-De-Kun Falls, a series of small waterfalls connected by a suspension bridge.

National Scenic Trails in the Midwest

By Contributed Content

October 11, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.

The Midwest is home to nearly 5,000 miles of National Scenic Trail, an elite category...

Foreign traveller and airport staff walk at the Haneda International Airport Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022, in Tokyo.

Tourists flock to Japan after COVID restrictions lifted

By Associated Press

October 11, 2022 at 6:53 a.m.

Eager to admire colorful foliage, eat sushi and go shopping, droves of tourists from abroad...

Sahana Singh, 5-months, tries her very first apple at Stade's Farm & Market on Sept. 22, 2022, in McHenry.

My son and I went apple picking at 5 new-to-us places near Chicago. Here are our thoughts and tips.

By Boone Finley

October 3, 2022 at 12:17 p.m.

Our family loves to pick apples. Scratch that, two-thirds of us love to pick apples...