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,...

Rick Steves’ Europe: Artisan Europe

By Rick Steves

June 9, 2021 at 2:34 p.m.

When you've traveled in Europe, you see how traditional, local businesses are making way for...

Go away with … tennis star Sloane Stephens

By Jae-Ha Kim

June 9, 2021 at 11:43 a.m.

From January through October of every year, tennis star Sloane Stephens is in a different...

Why can’t I get a refund for my canceled Insight Vacations tour?

By King Features Syndicate

June 9, 2021 at 9:44 a.m.

Q: My husband and I booked a nine-day land package to see the national parks...

People stand on the beach at night to watch the waves glow blue due to bioluminescence on April 24, 2020, in Newport Beach, California.

7 bioluminescent beaches and bays that glow at night

By Oyster.com

June 7, 2021 at 2:14 p.m.

You might have seen it in the Academy Award-winning film "Life of Pi" — a...

More than 6 million people drive, cycle or hike along the undulating Natchez Trace Parkway each year, making it the National Park Service's seventh most-visited site.

Exploring the history and natural beauty of the Natchez Trace — once the most important travel route between Mississippi and Tennessee

By Melanie Radzicki Mcmanus

June 3, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Meriwether Lewis died here. Aaron Burr did not, but 21/2 years after slaying Alexander Hamilton...

Rick Steves’ Europe: Helsinki: ‘Relax . . . I wash you twice’

By Rick Steves

June 2, 2021 at 1:52 p.m.

I'm in Helsinki, surveying the city from its fanciest rooftop restaurant. The setting sun glints...

Rick Steves’ Europe: Deja vu in Istanbul

By Rick Steves

June 2, 2021 at 1:48 p.m.

When I was in my 20s, I ended eight European trips in a row in...

Can Booking.com keep my rental deposit?

By King Features Syndicate

June 2, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.

Q: I recently booked a reservation on Booking.com at Pelican Stay, a furnished apartment building...

Anne-Laure Mostacero and her son Timothee are checked in for their COVID-19 tests at Doctors Test Centers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Traveling this summer? TSA’s screening tips can help you zip through packed airports

By Maddie Capron

June 1, 2021 at 4:32 p.m.

More people are starting to travel again — and airports are packed because of that....

Transformers The Ride 3D at Universal Orlando has a minimum height requirement of 40 inches.

‘Am I tall enough yet?’ Orlando-area theme park ride height restrictions

By Contributed Content

June 2, 2021 at 12:13 p.m.

Check out the height restrictions on all of Central Florida's theme park rides including Disney,...