An Italian town has banned the sale of Mafia-themed souvenirs

Aug 30, 2024 • 7 min read

Driving between France and Italy this year? You may be forced take a detour as the Mont-Blanc Tunnel, which links the two countries beneath the Alps, is closing for 15 weeks for renovation work.

A residential cruise ship that was supposed to travel around the world has been stuck in Northern Ireland for the past three months.

Clarksville, a historic district of Austin, Texas, has lately emerged as a stylish dining and shopping enclave. Among the area’s most compelling new businesses is La Embajada, a design shop housed in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow. Combining the hospitality and interiors expertise of its founder, Raul Cabra — who has designed tableware for some of Mexico City’s most celebrated restaurants, including Rosetta and Pujol — La Embajada presents a refined, regionally diverse selection of Mexico’s artisanal offerings. A series of small rooms display vintage and contemporary furniture, from stately midcentury armchairs and 1970s glass sconces to a minimalist agave fiber rug by the Oaxaca-based textile artist Trine Ellitsgaard. The house is also an actual residence. Cabra often stays in the bedroom up the creaky stairs, and he’s recently made it available for short-term stays (bookings include a daily basket of baked goods from Austin’s Swedish Hill). Guests can purchase the room’s handmade décor, such as a pair of sleek bedside lamps in milky white onyx, a 1960s La Malinche dresser and a bedspread from a Michoacan manufacturer that once supplied Herman Miller. Downstairs, glassware, candles and gifts fill a section modeled after a typical general store in a small Mexican town. But La Embajada’s heart is its inviting kitchen, where visiting chefs cook elaborate meals and staff prepare ice cream and coffee. In another twist, every bespoke detail — including a hammered copper sink, caramel-colored tiles and waxed pine cabinets — can be custom-ordered for one’s own home.

A few months ago, I realized that my passport was nearly full. It wasn't due to expire for another couple of years, but I was running out of blank pages. I knew that some countries — including popular tourist destinations like Italy and Iceland — might even refuse me entry if I didn't have two or more blank passport pages.

Dozens of global carriers have secured more than 550 orders for Airbus' newest narrowbody plane, the Airbus A321XLR, since its 2019 launch.

Travellers to Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport may soon be able to use facial recognition to check in for flights. 

The night train boom is continuing with a new sleeper across Europe launching in 2025. 

The reasons tourists travel to Venice, Italy, are obvious. The city known for its canals and historic architecture feels like a fairytale.

I've been invited to more bachelorette parties than I can count.

With rising temperatures in southern Europe, more and more tourists are flocking to cooler destinations in the north.

With rising temperatures in southern Europe, more and more tourists are flocking to cooler destinations in the north.