From the Loire Valley to Lapland: Europe's best places to catch colourful autumn leaves

Increasing the use of public transport and minimising car dependency are two significant ways to help Europe reach ambition climate and energy-saving targets. At the heart of achieving both is the continent's railways.

While travelling for wellness feels like a modern phenomenon, the Romans were known to travel to thermal baths as early as the 2nd century BC. The earliest spas—the Latin word for which, ‘salus per aquam,’ translates to ‘health from water’—were considered integral to a healthy life. Roman legionaries would sooth their sore muscles in natural spring water and thermal treatments were prescribed to relieve physical ailments. Centuries later and Italy continues to take their spas seriously.

As summer holidays come to an end, 50 Best has compiled its list of the World’s 50 Best Hotels in 2023.

When it comes to packing light, it's not just the amount of clothing you bring that matters — it's also the materials they're made of.

What we now know as Denmark was a home base for Viking expeditions far and wide. The Viking Age, characterized by sea travel, trading, exploration, and settlement, was not without its fair share of conflict even at home.

Over half of all travelers consider taking a solo trip. Often times, such retreats center around individuals searching for an enlightened approach to their everyday existence, and the focus can be on relaxation, wellness, adventure, stress management or even romance. Solo travelers report that traveling alone can enhance one’s sense of self-awareness and inner tranquility. And while the approaches may differ, the ultimate goal is the same: to experience the world from a unique perspective.

Madame Ziemowit the witch nods and scratches her beard as I flip a tarot card, revealing the chariot symbol. Picking the chariot seems fitting, as the turban-clad sorcerer and I are on a train, having just crossed the border from Germany into Poland. Multicoloured lightbulbs adorn carriage windows, framing a green-blue blur of fields and rivers. Next to us a toddler, sitting in a mini-library by the loo, draws squiggles on an Etch A Sketch. A jaunty brass fanfare plays through the carriage speakers.

One of the fruits of getting on a train is that it makes me want to chat. So instead of gazing at Kent as we proceed to Paris from London, I talk to my neighbour. Martha grew up in San Francisco, studied in Oregon, and puts syrup on everything. When we part ways on the concourse of Gare du Nord – she to lunch with a friend from Wisconsin, me to amble around before continuing towards Turkey – she says the best things about the US are Taylor Swift and meatloaf. It’s good to talk.

When Irene Ortega's new, shiny black Rimowa suitcase was lost on a Lufthansa flight, she spent more than $1,000 on flights and 14 hours on a plane in an attempt to track down her bag, she told Insider.

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Terry and Al Hershey can afford to live anywhere they please after their successful careers—she in the corporate offices of Time Warner, he running businesses in medical device manufacturing and contract research and development. So, when they loaded up their 34-foot RV at their Bonita Springs, Florida home and hit the road to scout a second retirement locale, they headed to what might sound like a surprising place: Traverse City, Michigan, a small town (population 16,000) 250 miles northwest of Detroit, that sits on a bay opening to Lake Michigan. In 2021, the Hersheys moved into a 132-year-old, 5-bedroom Victorian three blocks from Grand Traverse Bay, where they spend six months a year with their goldendoodle and Aussiedoodle. Now both 76, they hike, bike, kayak and motorboat and can choose from scores of musical performances a year at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts and by the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. “We wanted a summer base,” Terry explains. Why not spend all year in Traverse City? They don’t mind the cold (they lived for many years in Colorado), but find the lack of sunshine during the winters in Traverse City too dreary, she says.

It's no secret that the Caribbean is one of the world's premier regions for breathtaking nature.