For the Olympics, Many Parisians Left the City—Some Wish They Had Stayed Instead

You don’t hear about Central Florida very often, and when you do, chances are it has something to do with Walt Disney World. But just over an hour north of the famed resort complex is the mid-sized city of Ocala, a destination bursting with superlatives, including “America’s largest spring” and “horse capital of the world.”

Aug 9, 2024 • 7 min read

Beyond Simone Biles going for gold and the opening ceremony, one of the most talked about aspects of the Summer Olympics in Paris is the athletes village — and one of the biggest hotel companies in the world is in charge of maintaining it all.

While most American cities aren’t considered easy to navigate by foot, a recent study by travel insurance experts AllClear ranked one popular Southern city as the most walkable in the country. AllClear examined topographical information for more than 240 cities around the world, taking into account average elevation and range, and assigned each city a score — and ultimately, it was New Orleans that was named the most walkable city in the U.S. and the fourth most walkable city globally.

Martini in hand and pursuing another, I stumble to the bar—not because I’m drunk but because the bar itself is moving. I’m on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, Europe; specifically, in Bar Car 3674, swathed in sapphire velvet and buzzing with passengers in their black-tie best for cocktail hour. Outside, the landscape unfurls gradually, the industrial tableaus of France’s heartland fading into fields baking under the summer sun. Golden hour has hit; onboard, cufflinks and jewels catch the light and shine. There’s a mirthful sparkle to the crowd, guests and crew alike, made even more apparent by our close quarters on the train. As I sidle past a woman in a sequined dress, our crystal coupes meet by chance in a delicate clink. She and I exchange introductions and share a proper toast: We’re finally here.

Alaska Airlines was the most on-time carrier in North America in July in a month that saw mass flight delays due to the fallout from the CrowdStrike IT outage.

Paris is hosting this year's Summer Olympics — but that's not where we kicked off the Games.

Hotels are often agents of change in a neighborhood. That’s certainly true in New York, where buttoned-up Wall Street and the frenetic NoMad district, north of Madison Square Park, are just two of the beneficiaries of the city’s latest hotel boom. More than 40 properties have opened across the five boroughs since 2022, during apost-Covid rebirth that’sbrought freshenergy to long-overlooked pockets of Manhattan as well as to its most well-trodden quarters. Among these new arrivals are the Hotel Chelsea, a long-awaited revival of the venerable art-crowd hangout, and Nine Orchard, an elegant makeover of a 1912 bank building on the Lower East Side. Then there’s the Aman, the hushed retreat that opened two summers ago in the middle of Midtown. At least two more luxury hotels are planning to welcome guests next month: the Surrey, an Upper East Side landmark entirely remade by the Malta-based Corinthia Hotels group, and the Manner, an upscale sibling of the Standard hotels, in SoHo. Here, a closer look at five other attention-worthy newcomers:

Since our American family moved from South Carolina to Madrid, I've been slowly adapting to all things Spain.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amanda Mrokez, an American student in Cologne, Germany. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

At the urging of labor activists in the late 19th century, Congress declared a national holiday on the first Monday in September to celebrate the hard workers of the United States. Now, 130 years later, Labor Day has become more widely known as a three-day weekend celebration that officially ends summer. And it's often seen as travelers' last chance to hit the open road, hop on a plane or book a staycation at a nearby hotel to grab one last dose of sunny R&R before the kids go back to school, the days grow shorter and pumpkin spice season begins.

Traveling with children already comes with inherent challenges, but in recent years, airlines’ seat selection policies have made it more difficult for parents and guardians to book adjacent seats with their young children—and are charging for the privilege. This morning, the Department of Transportation (DOT) formally proposed a ban on family seating junk fees.