Help! United Canceled Our Trip to Paris. Or Did It?

Paris has a leafy little secret: Tucked into grand boulevards, behind museums and churches, and inside hotels are secret gardens in Paris designed as back-to-nature reprieves. Secluded square? Woodsy park? Lush courtyards that look (and smell) more countryside than French capital? If you know where to look, the City of Light brims with verdant escape hatches from city life.

My first visual encounter with Dominica was through the paintings of the Italian-born artist Agostino Brunias, who made a career portraying the island in tame, stylized vignettes that glossed over the grim realities of colonial rule. But within minutes of my arrival there, from the first twist of its serpentine roads, it becomes clear there is nothing tame about this land that sits in the middle of the curve of the Lesser Antilles. It bristles with volcanic energy and glitters with the two-toned leaves of its bois canot trees, flipping from green to white as they waver in the wind. It lulls with the uneven music of its many waterfalls; it throws random rainbows across its astonishing horizons; it bewitches from the depths with its technicolor coral reefs. And when hurricane season comes, it roars.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tiffany Fite, a graduate student at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Right now, American Airlines is offering some serious bargains on round-trip flights to some of Europe’s most iconic destinations, with prices starting at under $500. The sale, which runs through September 17, covers flights departing on select dates between now and May 2024. Travelers can take advantage of discounted flights to such timeless cities as Athens, Dublin, London, Lisbon, Paris, Venice and many more. 

Paris has changed a lot in the last few decades. Not so long ago, the tourist circuit was limited to a small number of famous locations and you’d find few locals who spoke more than a handful of phrases in English. These days, Paris is a more worldly, cosmopolitan place. However, the densely packed French capital still has its distinct way of doing things. Parisian culture places huge value on food, beauty, and leisure, and many of the faux pas (at least in the eyes of Parisians) made by visitors occur when these sacred principles are infringed. From dining etiquette to public transportation dos and don'ts, here’s your easy guide to navigating the City of Lights the Parisian way.

Passengers heading to Paris will soon lose a popular daytime service that departs from the U.S. in the morning and arrives by evening.

Before Vanderbilt mansions like The Breakers and Marble House put Newport, Rhode Island, on the map as an escape for the Gilded Age's wealthy elite, there was Chateau-sur-Mer.

Stifling heat across Europe this summer has made the thought of multi-day mountain trekking an unappealing prospect.

I dodged designer dogs — like shih tzus and Pomeranians — in Panama City's Punta Pacifica neighborhood.

You might assume hosting the Olympics is great for a city's economy thanks to an influx of visitors staying in hotels, dining out, and enjoying the sights.

There’s never a bad time to go to Paris, and Air France agrees, giving away a pair of roundtrip flights and a wardrobe incroyable so travelers can live their best French lives.

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.