I'm an American mom living in Spain. When we visit the US, my son is surprised by the 'fancy' cars and how sugary breakfast is.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tobi Oluwole, a 30-year-old former sales manager at a Big Tech firm who recently relocated to France. His former employer is known to Business Insider but is not named for confidentiality. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Oct 2, 2024 • 7 min read

Dozens of destinations worldwide have struggled to manage a surge in visitor numbers in recent years and a growing number of communities are expressing frustration with mass tourism.

Sep 30, 2024 • 3 min read

When Erin Hynes and Lucas Amormino quit their jobs in Canada to travel around the world for six months, most of their loved ones were supportive.

As astrotourism continues to take off, more travelers are planning trips on Earth based on night sky events—from solar eclipses and rare supermoons to the annual Perseid meteor shower. And while many of us mourn the early sunsets that fall brings, the extra hours of darkness offer an opportunity to tune into the celestial movements above.

From #BookTok to celebrity book clubs to high-profile literary film adaptations, it's safe to say that reading hasn't been this cool in years. So it's not a big surprise that our favorite nerdy pastime has also begun to seep into the world of nightlife.

Low-cost Icelandic airline Play is making it easier to travel this fall and winter with $99 flights to popular cities across Europe.

Whether you're looking to escape the winter blues or hoping to experience the ultimate snowy Christmas vacation, there are so many beautiful places in the world to pick from for your next winter vacation. Winter in general tends to be a less crowded time to travel than summer, but there are still a fair number of tourists that can fill up some of your favorite cities. If you're looking for an off-the-beaten-path trip that excels in views, vibes, and value but isn't yet so overrun with other travelers that you'll have trouble walking down the street, we've found some of the best options for you. Here are 11 underrated winter vacation spots to visit this upcoming season, with trips for beach bums who want to leave the cold weather behind, as well as wintertime-lovers who can't wait to hop on the slopes or peruse a Christmas market.

As a fashion industry veteran, the men’s wear designer Jesse Rowe has been to countless stores. The one he can’t stop thinking about is Marcello, a hidden shop in Fukuoka, Japan. “You walk into a nondescript building, go up a couple of flights of stairs to the rooftop, walk along a stone path, then go down a fire escape to this completely transporting clothing shop,” says Rowe. The designer has brought that spirit of discovery to Zebra Room, a boutique in Germantown, N.Y., that’s equal parts coffee shop, cabinet of curiosities and listening lounge. Housed in a converted barn, Zebra Room devotes most of its square footage to a collection of midcentury Scandinavian furniture that Rowe’s brother imports from Copenhagen (highlights include an Inca chair by Arne Norell). There are also secondhand clothes and goods, from vintage marinière shirts to handmade leather dog collars. A coffee bar (which serves everything from Mexican café de olla to cold brew tonics topped with yuzu) is set up in a cube leftover from an exhibition held by the shop’s next-door neighbors Alexander Gray Associates. Rowe and his wife, the interior designer Loren Daye, clad the plaster installation with hemlock wood to keep with the natural feel of the space, which also has a 1970s cast-iron stove and retains the barn’s bluestone dirt floors. The cube houses Rowe’s record collection and sound system, which the designer has modeled after those in Japan’s kissa cafes. He alternates between vinyl and streaming, but the shop’s soundtrack is always played through a restored vintage SunValley/Dynaco tube amplifier and Klipsch LaScala speakers; similar tube amps, turntables and speakers are also for sale. “I want it to feel like someone’s living room — you might have to yell over the music,” says Rowe.

The Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses are getting a feature for live voice translation. 

There are two types of train trip: The long, slow, and often luxurious train journey that takes you through beautiful scenery that you book specifically to spend time on the rails; and the speedy, no-nonsense, cheap train ride you take to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In the first category, you’ll find grand trips like Australia’s The Ghan, South Africa’s Blue Train, and Britain’s Caledonian Sleeper. In the second, there are trips from London to Brussels in just two hours, from Rome to Venice in four hours, and from Miami to Orlando in three hours. And if you’re a train traveler who belongs to the second category and likes getting places fast without flying, there are plenty of trains in this world that do just that at speeds previously unimaginable on land, including the fastest train in the world and its closest competitors.