I've traveled on trains in the US, Europe, and Australia, but Japan's bullet trains exceeded my wildest dreams. Here's what they're like.

Paul Strug doesn't usually wear his Apple watch to bed, but he told Insider that the night before his son was scheduled to fly home from Japan, he put it on just in case something came up and his son needed him.

‘Leith is changing. Bars are becoming bistros, and barbers are opening with bars in them,” says walking guide Paul Stewart, founder of Edinburgh Street Tours. He points to the new tram station atop Leith Walk and says, “It feels more tram-spotting than Trainspotting,” a reference to the drug-addled 90s black comedy written by Leith-born Irvine Welsh. Stewart is not complaining as he used to survive on the streets of this old port where, in the 1980s, half the unemployed had been jobless for over a year. It was no accident that Leithers the Proclaimers used Leith as the video backdrop for their damning riposte to Thatcherite Scotland, Letter from America.

Traditional food has a stronghold on Athens’ dining scene, and Greece as a whole. Widespread respect for classic dishes means that family recipes are often untampered with, even at restaurants, but contemporary newcomers have also found their voice in the sea of tradition.

When downtown rents dropped because of the pandemic, lots of ambitious shops, cafes and restaurants ended up launching as a result. There’s a real sense of revitalisation in the city.

I felt an instant pang of regret on my most recent Target shopping spree. 

Landscapes as green and lovely as everyone says. Literary giants in Dublin; Titanic history in Belfast. A pint and good craic in a traditional pub. The lure of Celtic legends.

For any traveler who's a bit too early for their Amtrak train, or wants a spot to figure out the first thing to do upon arriving in New York City, will soon have a place to go.

Editor’s Note: For the latest version of this story, see The World’s Most and Least Expensive Cities, Ranked.

Shoes can make or break your vacation, especially in winter when you have to contend with frozen toes and slippery sidewalks. That’s why a pair of warm winter boots can be a traveler’s best friend on cold-weather trips. The following boots are packable, lightweight, and comfortable enough to walk in for miles. I’ve also thrown in a few pairs of winter shoes that aren’t boots but are still worth adding to your cold-weather packing list.

Though I pride myself on being an independent traveler—I was in the United States Peace Corps in Paraguay for two years, have been to six continents, and spent multiple years reviewing hotels across the U.S. and around the world, by myself— India is one country that I’ve never considered visiting as a solo traveler.

I don’t suppose that most travelers choose their trip destinations based on a country’s happiness index. On the other hand, if they knew that Country A scored near the top of the happiness index and Country B scored near the bottom, it seems probable they’d be inclined to book their flights to Country A. Who wants to spend their vacation among unhappy people?

As an American traveler, I too often let airlines dictate my life. When am I going on that cross-country trip I’ve been planning? Whatever dates the Big Three (Delta, United, American) or Southwest decides are cheapest. With few other modes of affordable transportation in this vast country, airfare reigns supreme.