Amsterdam welcomes back Europe's largest medical conference

The first time I traveled for two weeks with a backpack, it was the lightest I'd ever packed for the longest trip I'd ever taken. I had everything I needed, but I was surprised to find that I could have packed even lighter. 

Amsterdam’s Red Light District (AKA De Wallen) is a small area that is densely packed with some of Amsterdam’s best-known businesses: coffeeshops, sex-show venues, window brothels, and sex clubs. But the Red Light District is not just for those looking to get high or get laid, the neighborhood has mix of art venues and unusual museums that can be enjoyed by everyone. No matter what you’re looking for in Amsterdam’s Red Light District, there are do’s and don’ts you should adhere to.

Amsterdam has dominated cannabis tourism for 40 years, but now it’s stepping back from this multibillion-dollar industry, creating opportunities for emerging marijuana destinations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. New rules in the Dutch city’s central tourist area limit alcohol sales, require bars to close earlier, and impose a €100 ($107) fine for public marijuana smoking.

For the first time, a nation is allowing travelers to cross its border with a digital passport on their smartphone instead of a physical passport. While the trial is happening in Finland, the European Union wants at least 80% of citizens in the 27-country bloc to be using a digital ID by 2030.

Air Canada is expanding its international flying schedule for the summer of 2024, especially to destinations across Europe, including a new year-round route between Montreal and Madrid. 

Just getting to – and through – the airport in time for your flight is stressful enough in these post-pandemic days. Then there's the fun of getting on the aircraft – even if you have what's euphemistically called something like "priority boarding."

As the days grow shorter and the evenings cooler, Labor Day Weekend in the United States marks a bittersweet moment: it serves as the unofficial conclusion to the summer travel season.

The European Commission is set to block Booking Holdings’ $1.8 billion deal to acquire Sweden’s eTraveli Group, a critically important transaction that’s been in limbo for nearly two years.

After unveiling plans earlier this year to launch flights to a third destination in Europe—this time to Amsterdam—JetBlue on Tuesday operated its first flights to the Netherlands’ capital with round-trip fares as low as $499 (for a very limited time), offering travelers another low-cost transatlantic option and some welcome relief from this year’s soaring international airfares.

Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is celebrating the end of summer with a flight sale to the UK and Europe starting at just $129. 

U.S. travelers have been flocking to Europe in droves this summer. And while the peak travel period is beginning to wind down (and along with it, the sweltering heat), JetBlue is making a final push to capture travelers headed across the Atlantic with its newly launched service from New York’s JFK to Amsterdam Schipol — and I was onboard the first flight. 

Editors' note: JetBlue provided TPG with a free one-way business-class ticket for the inaugural Paris route. All opinions expressed here are the author's alone and were not subject to review by JetBlue.