Munich's Sleek New Marriott Embraces the City’s Royal and Industrial Heritages

When you land in Basel, Switzerland, you land in a Swiss fantasy.

A Marseille neighbourhood has been crowned the “coolest in the world” in Time Out magazine’s annual ranking.

Travelling across Europe by both plane and train is set to get easier thanks to a new partnership between Eurostar and a global airline alliance.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, October 2, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

In October 2022, I took a two-week backpacking trip through Europe, where I slept in shared train cabins and budget Airbnbs.

Sep 30, 2024 • 6 min read

People go to Giverny to see the gardens that moved Monet and to Arles for the fields behind van Gogh’s madness. They trek through the Louvre as if by magnetic force, seeking — what else? — the Mona Lisa selfie.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Celia Robbins, an American who relocated to Berlin with her family. She works at the Embassy of the United States of America in Berlin. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

A popular low-cost air airline is expanding globally. Southwest Airlines recently announced a partnership to offer international flights by partnering with carriers who operate international fights in Southwest markets. “Southwest is formalizing partnerships with international carriers to expand its network and connect Customers with more global destinations to generate additional demand for travel across the Southwest network,” Southwest shared in a news release. The launch of this new international flight program will take place in 2025, with Icelandair as the first partner airline, and will depart from the Baltimore, MD (BWI) airport. There, travelers can fly on Icelandair to Iceland, where they can connect to a variety of European destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Oslo, Prague, Rome, and more. Icelandair is a discount carrier that operates international flights, and similar to Southwest, does not have a first or business class section on their aircraft.  “The partnership will unlock many exciting travel options for our customers, and our extensive network in Europe will open for Southwest customers,” Icelandair President and CEO Bogi Nils Bogason said in a statement.  “As part of our strategic focus on expanding our global partnership network, we seek out airlines known for exceptional service and connectivity.” As an example, a traveler would start their journey on Southwest from Nashville to Baltimore, and then continue on Icelandair from Baltimore to Iceland.

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

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.

Staying overnight in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of AlUla has been possible for some years. Since Saudi Arabia opened its borders to tourism a few years ago, the region has welcomed guests with immersive luxury desert stays at sustainable resorts like Banyan Tree and Habitas AlUla and glamping at Ashar Tented Resort. And now it’s possible to stay in AlUla’s Old Town.