Looking for destinations that promote cultural diversity and sustainable travel? The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently released its annual list of the Best Tourism Villages, a compilation of authentic, lesser-known places to travel. Consider it your new travel bucket list.
Winter makes air travel more complicated than it normally is with weather causing flight delays about 25% of the time. Factor in all of the other reasons that might interfere with takeoff (or landing) and the average number of delayed flights from airports is also in the 25% range. But some airports are even less reliable. According to a new survey by the travel site Upgraded Points, El Paso International Airport (ELP) has the highest number of delayed flights (32.8%) while Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport (SJU) is ranked second (30.7%) and Albuquerque International (ABQ) rounds out the bottom three with 30.6%. Here is the complete list of airports and airlines with the greatest delays during the holidays.
Any new surf resort is bound to make waves—but this one has to. Lost Shore Surf Resort is set within a 60-acre country park in Scotland (less than an hour drive from Edinburgh or Glasgow) and features an enormous wave pool on an expansive manmade beachfront. Billed as the world’s first inland surf resort and set to open in 2024, Lost Shore will feature luxury lodging, restaurants, shopping and a spa. But, of course, it’s the state-of-the-art wave pool—capable of producing 1,000 waves an hour—that’s the real draw. Surfers will be able to ride waves up to 22 seconds, with more than 20 different varieties of curls for all abilities.
If the planet seems a little more dangerous than usual right now, course correct next year by traveling to some of the safest countries in the world. According to a recent study by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, Canada is the safest country for 2024, followed by Switzerland and Norway. As for the safest cities, Honolulu tops the list along with Montreal at No. 2 and Reykjavik rounding out the top three.
Feast your eyes on the 100 best restaurants in America, according to Open Table. Based on reviews by more than 12 million diners, Open Table’s list (which is not ranked) features restaurants in 64 cities (up from 47 last year) with a variety of cuisines, including French, West African and Lebanese. And a reservation is just a click away.
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Trevor Noah has spent a lot of time on the road lately. Since wrapping up his tenure as host of The Daily Show last year, the comedian has been hopping between continents to perform standup in some of the world’s greatest and most fascinating cities, from Berlin and Tokyo to Glasgow and Paris. His travels have also, unsurprisingly, given him more material to work with—much of which he explores in his new Netflix special, Trevor Noah: Where Was I, released on December 19. Condé Nast Traveler recently caught up with Noah—who also has a new Spotify podcast, What Now? with Trevor Noah, in the pipeline and will be returning as host of the 66th annual Grammy Awards in February—to talk national anthems, South African curries, and why travel has the power to shift our perspectives.
What a thrill to journey by train to St Moritz in the snowy Swiss Alps to see the work of Gerhard Richter (born in 1932), the German painter who critics describe as our “greatest living artist.” His works can be found in international collections and have been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries in Europe and the United States. He’s also the most expensive European living artist (his abstract painting Abstraktes Bild (599) sold for a record $46.3 million at Sotheby's in London). While Richter’s paintings are highly covetable, collectors visiting his new three-venue exhibition in the Swiss Alps must be content with simply viewing the works as none are for sale.
Traditionally nomadic, Sámi people have been herding reindeer across Sápmi (Lapland) for 7,000 years, long before the region was divided into Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Reindeer are integral to the Sámi way of life, yet the Indigenous people’s lifestyle is under threat from climate change, mines and cultural appropriation. Sweden is home to 20,000 Sámi, a fifth of whom roam with their herd around Laponia — a UNESCO World Heritage Site that stretches across Sweden’s Artic North. The others keep their customs alive by continuing age-old traditions and sharing stories about their heritage. Here are some exciting ways to explore their culture.
What are the best cities to visit in the world? Euromonitor International has unveiled the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023. This comprehensive analysis serves as a guide to the most dynamic and influential cities across the globe and gives a glimpse into the best places to travel to right now.
Global market research company Euromonitor International has released its annual rankings of city destinations based on tourism, sustainability and economic performance. Europe dominates the field. Paris was crowned the most attractive city destination in the world in the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023, with seven European destinations landing in the top 10 and the continent owning 63 spots in the top 100 overall. Nadejda Popova, Senior Manager (Loyalty) at Euromonitor International, said: “Paris has retained the title of the world's leading city following exceptional performance across the Tourism Policy and Attractiveness, Tourism Infrastructure and Tourism Performance pillars.” Paris was followed by Dubai in second place, Madrid in third, Tokyo in fourth and Amsterdam in fifth. The top 10 was rounded out by Berlin (6), Rome (7), New York (8), Barcleona (9) and London (10).
For years, I was a frequent train traveler between New York City and Washington, D.C., and I once loved the ease of riding the rails between the two urban centers. But with each passing trip, the travel times seemed to grow longer, with increasingly unexpected delays. On one infamous ride, when my coworker and I departed our office at the same time, she managed to land in Reykjavik before I reached the nation’s capital. It was around this time that I gave up on riding the rails out of the city altogether.
In 2021, I gave up on major airlines for my regular flights between Paris and New York—despite being a frequent flyer club member with a cache of points. I had purchased economy tickets for my toddler, my husband, and myself, and called the airline to double-check that we could sit together. The customer service rep said seat selection was a privilege for the half-step above economy, but they would let one of us sit next to our daughter—as an exception. Or what? I wondered. Have a stranger tend to our two-year-old?
Cities around the world manage every year to turn the end-of-year festive mood spotlight on one of the holiday’s most revered symbols, the Christmas tree.
Airline will open its newest UK base at Birmingham International Airport early offering more flights across 29 routes. Flights on 16 new routes from the base will go on sale on Thursday 30 November at easyJet.com.