London to Edinburgh on the Caledonian Sleeper

Traveling by train in Europe is as easy as pie. You can go across France in half a day, you can get from London to Amsterdam in just four hours, or even travel between Austria and Hungary for less than $10. Even in Scandinavia, the rail network is extensive, providing rail transport to and from large cities, small towns, neighboring countries, and even in the far reaches of the Arctic.

The best luxury hotels obsess over just about everything: The sheets, coffee, temperature, and lighting. The fresh flowers each day.

Back in the days when I was a student living in Venice, before Google Maps and GPS systems, getting lost was a frequent occurrence. I’d often find myself wandering around the picturesque waterways, stumbling across tiny squares, crumbling bridges and hidden, narrow walkways, in the quest to find somewhere. One minute, I could be a piazza teaming with tourists and, next, it was not uncommon to suddenly find myself in a narrow calle, with no one around, hearing the echoes of my footsteps against the lapping of the green-hued canal water. Coming from London and knowing my way around that vast city, this, at first, felt like a painful start to becoming a resident here. Yet, quickly, this feeling was superseded by a sense of joy, especially when discovering hidden treasures off the beaten track. Going off the tourist paths is the fastest way to discover the real sense of this ancient city.

A hotel is coming to London's famed BT Tower, but you'll need to wait a few years to check in.

Last May, I reserved a two-bedroom apartment in London for eight days through Booking.com, using a credit card to hold the reservation. Soon afterward, I received what looked like an official email from the company offering me a 20 percent discount and insisting I pay the host directly, in advance, via wire transfer. I sent the equivalent of $3,100 dollars to the account of a man named Nyholm Peik, which I now know was a foolish thing to do. Soon afterward, Booking emailed to tell me the property was no longer available. I got in touch with Booking and spoke with several agents about getting a refund, but they gave me the runaround, continually insisting on more documentation. Can you help?

Plans are underway to turn London's historic BT Tower into a hotel.

On Saturday night, a Virgin Atlantic aircraft took off from Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport (IAD) at 10:45, bound for London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

A recent British Fashion Council report confirms the fashion industry’s significant contribution to the UK economy. In 2021, the estimated £28.9 billion gross value added contribution to the economy was similar in size to that made by the car industry. And the driving force behind the industry has been London Fashion Week, the semi-annual event that just celebrated its 40th anniversary this month.

The hotel company that developed the retro-chic TWA Hotel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport has bought London’s iconic BT Tower, one of London’s most conspicuous buildings, from British Telecoms Group for $347 million.

A man boarded a plane without a ticket at the UK's second-busiest airport, a second such incident in under two months at London airports.

On a chilly winter’s day, exactly 100 years ago, four smartly dressed men boarded a train in Edinburgh. Willie Jackson and his son Laurence were both farmers, dapper Thomas Murray bred sheep and cattle, and portly Robin Welsh was a member of Edinburgh city council. At 54, he was a little older than his pals. They had deliberated for months about whether to make their journey, but in the end went for it, and what an adventure it turned out to be.

Swimming coach Emma MacDonald set up Wild Hebridean Swimming in 2022 after moving back to Mull. The company offers holidays for open water swimmers, but also retreats for those who can only tread water or do a bit of doggy paddle. These involve short dips in the clear waters of the Inner Hebrides, where there are seals, underwater kelp forests and waterfalls. Longer swims can be arranged on request. The programme also includes a guided walk on Iona, the burial place of 48 Scottish kings including Macbeth. Guests stay at Achaban House, which has woodburners and a wood-fired hot tub, where there is a choice of activities, including yoga and massage. From £895 including all meals and wine, next retreat 8-11 March, wildhebrideanswimming.com