Norway travel guide: Explore the best of Scandinavia

Bern has been rated the most liveable city in Europe again, according to one expert ranking.

I began my exploration of the countless bike paths in New York City as soon as I arrived. As a longtime cyclist in London, I knew that cycling is a satisfying way to get to know a city as a newcomer, and it’s no different in New York: you whip through neighborhoods, witnessing the landscape changing character dramatically between blocks. (My first ever bike ride took me past the copper-colored mansions of Brooklyn Heights, along the tourist-crowded cobbled streets of Dumbo, through Hasidic South Williamsburg and ended outside a crummy dive bar on Grand.) Riding a bike also requires a certain mindset, a kind of calm hyper awareness as you assess your surroundings. It means that you really notice things on a bike: potholes and perfectly flattened rats that need dodging, but also scraps of conversations, or the gauzy silhouette of the Empire State Building peeking out behind skyscrapers to signpost where you are.

If you're ever wondering aloud where the hottest mid-winter celebrations take place, those in-the-know might quietly respond, “St. Barts.” The island's luxe air of mystery and remoteness are part of what makes it a seasonal staple for jet setters and superyachts as they follow the sun to the Caribbean in winter. The festivities rage on until the St. Barths Bucket Regatta in mid-March, but what most visitors don’t realize is that the island is practically a year-round one, since the only time hotels typically shut is at the height of hurricane season (late summer).

The Mediterranean has long been a region of ancient history, incredible cultures and delicious cuisines. The countries surrounding the sea from which the region gets its name offers diverse opportunities for exploration, for every type of travel style. 

A provincial city in southwest France that deserves your full attention, Bordeaux is catwalk material. Wide aristocratic boulevards lined with elegant townhouses and glitzy designer boutiques vie for center stage with a labyrinthine medieval old town, industrial-cool wet docks and an infinite sweep of silky-smooth riverside quays abuzz with cyclists, skaters, city slickers, dandies, flaneurs – you name it.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a big milestone for the festival, which takes place January 18-28 in Park City, Utah. The years following COVID have been muted, with parts of the festival taking place virtually. This, of course, impacted party attendance and the overall festival vibe, which traditionally does a full takeover of Park City’s historic Main Street corridor. The sense is that 2024 will restore Sundance to its full capacity, which also means Hollywood will truly bring the party to Park City this year.

With a pedigree rooted in classical Greece and a fair claim to the mantle of France's second city, Marseille is an intense, high-octane place that never stops moving. In the last decade, this noisy, once-notoriously unglamorous port has morphed into a quietly cool influencer. With its eclectic choice of museums, churches and coastal parks in a sprawling metropolis famously stitched from 111 wildly diverse “villages,” Provence’s all-consuming capital deserves far more time than a quick weekend.

The 2023-24 ski season is off to a rocky start in much of the U.S., despite an El Nino weather pattern having promised another snowy winter.

Last February, I was scrolling through Instagram when a peculiar ad appeared on my feed. The ad boasted of a three-year cruise called Life at Sea — said to be the longest cruise ever, with 382 port calls around the world — set to depart from Istanbul on Nov. 1.

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Looking for a special place to stay in Iceland? 

2023 has been full steam ahead for rail transport with a roster of new train routes and destinations announced.