How Berlin's techno scene came to define the post-wall city and earn UNESCO cultural heritage status — with a little help from Detroit

It’s been a dazzling spectacle of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, since Friday, May 11, across the night sky of the U.S., Canada and Europe, high-energy particles from the sun interacting with the earth's magnetic field to cause dazzling and mesmerizing geomagnetic storms.

Two online tour marketplaces say Dubai is far surpassing its pre-pandemic popularity. The city now ranks alongside Paris and Rome as a tourism hotspot.

Lübeck – Queen of the Hanseatic League – has a fading charm and vulnerability absent from the likes of Berlin, Munich and Hamburg … and most of Germany. I loved my trip there, wandering the cobbled streets, climbing every brick gothic church tower – generally alone! Thomas Mann wrote the unbearably sad novel Buddenbrooks there, then fled to the US from nazism in 1939. The Tin Drum author Günter Grass lived and worked in Lübeck in later life. Visit their former houses, now museums, the Grass-Haus and the Buddenbrook Haus. A singular German city, full of history and significance.Martin Charlesworth

Airbnb execs have used the phrase “expanding beyond the core” to mean launching new products and services for guests and hosts, and also their hope to lift growth beyond the company’s main five markets: The U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and France.

Miral, the leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences in Abu Dhabi, announced record-breaking visitation numbers in 2023 across Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, witnessing an extraordinary surge in destination visits and setting a new benchmark. Revealed during Arabian Travel Market 2024, Yas Island recorded over 34 million visits, a rise of 38% compared to 2022, which recorded 24.9 million. Similarly, Saadiyat Island saw a 44% visitation growth compared to 2022.

Last year, Eric Schmidt made waves in the yachting community when news came out that he was the soon-to-be owner of the Alfa Nero, an 81-meter megayacht that belonged to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

‘Do you ever get seasick?” Timm Schirmer, a 27-year-old DJ with a fabulous blond moustache, asks me shortly before we board the Techno Train. “When you’re dancing on the train it can feel like you’re at sea, because you can’t always see that you’re moving.” Worryingly, I have indeed spent many a past holiday retching on boats. But Timm’s question comes after I’ve paid €100 for a non-refundable ticket for what social media suggests is the most intense train ride in Europe. I knew it wouldn’t be plain sailing.

Nothing can ruin a vacation like being the victim of a pickpocketing scam. Throughout Europe specifically, a new study shows that there are some destinations where theft is more prevalent than others.

Are you planning some European travel this summer? Me too. Getting from A to B by train has never felt so exciting, with a thrilling mix of new routes, classic journeys, and under-the-radar options to choose from.

It was a 40-minute flight that airline insiders had been anticipating for seven years: the official launch of Lufthansa’s Allegris, the German flag carrier’s state-of-the-art cabin overhaul that was first announced in 2017 and finally confirmed last year.

Hyatt has struck a deal with Peloton to feature the fitness company’s bikes and rowing machines at 800 properties. Members of the hotel group’s loyalty program will earn points for Peloton workouts at participating hotels.

An amazing part of traveling is discovering a new place, but there’s something special about returning to a beloved destination—which also speaks volumes about what makes a place stand out as one of the best.