New Culinary And Gate Delivery Options Are Coming To Airports Near You

Illinois is brimming with festive activities and unique experiences, promising to be the go-to destination for an unforgettable winter experience. Lean into the holiday season in December, partake in outdoor winter activities and meet the Bald Eagles of Illinois in January, and indulge in Chicago’s theatre scene and automotive heritage in February.

For most people thinking about retirement, either at home or overseas, budget is a key factor.

New York City is practically synonymous with New Year’s Eve. The entire world watches and waits for the ball to drop in Times Square, while revelers at the crossroads of the world and across the boroughs celebrate the upcoming New Year. Plenty of restaurants far away from the chaos are also hosting celebrations for festive meals, toasts and a fun ambiance to ring in the 2024. Here’s where to celebrate:

A few years ago, at a reception at the Polish embassy in Bern, Switzerland, an elderly Jewish man pulled the ambassador aside and relayed an unbelievable story. They were standing on holy ground, the man said, a place where near-secret acts of heroism played out during World War II. Intrigued, the ambassador, Jakob Kumoch, tasked his staff with looking into the man’s claims. Soon, an incredible history emerged.

Turkish Airlines flies to 345 destinations in more different nations than any other carrier in the world, with one of the newest and most acclaimed airports as its hub. It also consistently ranks among the very best airlines and just won–again–Best Airline in Europe in the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, the industry’s most influential, beating out the likes of Air France, Swiss, Lufthansa, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. It also took home four other Number Ones in the awards, including Best Economy Class Seat in Europe and Best Business Class Cuisine worldwide. (I recently wrote in detail here at Forbes about another award-winning carrier, Qatar Airways, which has won World’s Best Airline and World’s Best Business Class among other titles).

With just over two weeks for winter travellers to start their vacations, in anticipation of a record winter tourist season,Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism says: “This surge in airlift represents an increase of 13 percent over winter 2022/2023, where we recorded a whopping 923,000 airline seats.”

It’s no stretch to say that New York City is the greatest arts destination in the States. The Big Apple is packed with cultural institutions, from the hallowed halls of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the city’s premier modern art museum, to the Museum of Broadway which celebrates New York’s theatre scene.

“He’s in here, in the kitchen every night and he’s smiling. He’s so happy to be doing this,” explains one of the managers of Café Carmellini. He is chef Andrew Carmellini, well known around New York the past 15 years for his respected but more casual restaurants Locanda Verde, Lafayette, The Dutch, Carne Mare and Bar Primi. This restaurant, which opened November 1st in the new Fifth Avenue Hotel, marks his return to fine dining with reinterpretations of French and Italian classics and as his most personal restaurant is the first one that bears his name. It’s been packed since opening night and looking around the Gilded Age style dining room with its oversized bronze and seeded glass chandeliers suspended from double height ceilings, plush blue banquettes and sculpted trees in the middle of the floor, the chef isn’t the only one smiling.

There’s no bad time to visit the Big Apple — but when winter takes hold, the city has an extra sheen of glitter. Department stores are brightened with kaleidoscopic light shows; a large ice rink springs up in Central Park; and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree sits pretty in the plaza. If you’re lucky, the streets might even be blanketed in white, catapulting visitors into a scene of a festive Hollywood film. 

As 2023 draws to a close, there's a slew of new U.K. and European routes launching in December and the not-so-distant future of 2024.

Even during the height of winter ski season, you can still hear the rhythmic pop of a tennis ball hitting a racquet around Stanglwirt, a decades-old luxury resort in the Austrian Alps near the tony mountain town of Kitzbühel. While Stanglwirt is now known for its laundry list of world-class amenities (including a fantastic wellness program), tennis is in fact what put it on the map. Through tennis management firm Peter Burwash International, Stanglwirt expanded its entire tennis program in the 1970s and 1980s, including building more facilities to accommodate tennis camps—a novelty at the time.

Intrepid travelers come to Jordan to experience the ancient ruins of Petra, the wide open spaces of Wadi Rum, heart-pumping hikes, Arab hospitality, and (of course) the kunafeh.