Travel

A United Airlines jet gets towed past an American Airlines maintenance hangar at O'Hare International Airport, April 14, 2026, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

American and United are in stalemate at O’Hare, but rivalry keeps growing

By Shun Graves

October 22, 2026 at 5:17 p.m.

With the rivalry at an imposed stalemate, both airlines turned to making underhanded barbs against...

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...

With its 52 towers, witch-hat turrets, and nearly two miles of ramparts, Carcassonne is France’s ultimate walled city. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Carcassonne: The Fortress City of your travel dreams

By Rick Steves

November 4, 2025 at 4:15 a.m.

Sunny, out-of-the-way Languedoc stretches from the Mediterranean to the Pyrenees in southwest France. It shares...

President Donald Trump is illuminated by a camera flash as he walks across the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Washington, after returning from a trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Government shutdown could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

By Mary Clare Jalonick

November 3, 2025 at 4:35 p.m.

With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown, now in its 33rd day and...

In Liechtenstein’s towns, it’s common to see quaint churches bumping up against modern business buildings. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Little, little Liechtenstein

By Rick Steves

November 1, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

Two centuries ago, there were dozens of independent states in the part of Europe that...

In Paris, “bouquinistes” sell used books and memorabilia from green metal stalls that line the Left Bank of the Seine River. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Europe by the book

By Rick Steves

October 21, 2025 at 4:14 a.m.

Getting close to one of the big icons of Western civilization – the Acropolis, the...

The Disney Dream cruise ship debuted out of Port Canaveral in 2011, but now sails out of Port Everglades. (Mark Gauert/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Mom of 5-year-old girl who fell overboard on Disney Dream won’t face criminal charge

By Angie Dimichele

October 20, 2025 at 5:19 p.m.

The mom of a 5-year-old girl who fell overboard from the Disney Dream cruise ship...

If Rotterdam has a single bold icon representing its modern approach to architecture, it’s Piet Blom’s funky cubed houses. (Cameron Hewitt, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Rotterdam: Where Dutch quaint meets bold modernity

By Rick Steves

October 15, 2025 at 5:55 p.m.

When traveling in the Netherlands – with its canals, windmills, and tulip fields – it...

Battersea Power Station is one of London’s many examples of industrial structures that have been regenerated to appeal to modern lifestyles. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: London’s regeneration scene

By Rick Steves

October 7, 2025 at 3:00 a.m.

London’s Docklands is a great example of regeneration. In the 19th century, the Docklands was...

The Franklin at 11th Street Station is under construction on Sept. 16, 2025, while the hyperboloid cooling tower at the NIPSCO Michigan City Generating Station is visible along the lakefront in Michigan City, Indiana. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Michigan City building boom aims to overcome industrial past to draw Chicagoans to visit and stay

By Robert McCoppin

October 3, 2025 at 3:32 p.m.

Michigan City officials are trying to change their town’s image from that of an industrial...

The sheer magnitude of Slovenia’s Škocjan cave is hard to capture. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Digging Europe’s wondrous caves

By Rick Steves

September 30, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.

Europe is rich in history, but its splendid castles, antique churches, and age-old ruins tell...

Covered and filled with paintings, Lucerne’s Chapel Bridge zigzags its way across the Reuss River. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Luzern’s lion, lake and lovely bridges

By Rick Steves

September 24, 2025 at 6:50 p.m.

Pretty, pristine, and perched on a lake, with a striking mountain panorama as a backdrop,...