Ranked: Europe’s Top Stress-Free Countries For Expats According To Experts

Five destinations in Europe are among the top ten sustainable places to travel to in 2024, according to Lonely Planet.

During her time as host of "Samantha Brown's Places to Love," Emmy-winning travel host Samantha Brown has sampled cheese and chocolate in Vienna, visited a turtle hospital in the Florida Keys and played rugby in Auckland, New Zealand, with a professional women's rugby team.

Shanghai Municipal People’s Government launched the beta version of a new online portal (english.shanghai.gov.cn) for expat services on Jan 1.

Paris to Venice. Barcelona to Amsterdam. Brussels to Bratislava, Slovakia. European cities could see a flurry of new rail connections in the next few years, as governments and private investors respond to climate concerns and strive to keep up with strong demand for cross-border passenger rail traffic.

AirlineRatings.com Names Air New Zealand As Its Safest Airline For 2024

Germany is celebrating the 250th birthday of one of its best-loved painters, the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). His work features mountains, ruins and stormy seas, often with human figures, such as Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. There are exhibitions in Hamburg (until 1 April), Berlin (19 April to 4 August) and Dresden (24 August to 5 January 2025), where Friedrich lived for 40 years; he is buried in the city’s Trinitatis Cemetery. His birthplace, Greifswald, has a festival (31 August-1 September) and three exhibitions at the Pomeranian State Museum (from 28 April). Visitors can also follow in the artist’s footsteps – literally, as he preferred to travel on foot, sketchbook in hand – to locations in his paintings, such as Rügen Island or the Saxon Switzerland national park.germany.travel

The survey compared hotel rates across 40 European destinations for December 31, with prices at all hotels with a central location and rated three stars or more in each destination recorded.

Poland has announced plans to build a new high-speed rail line linking some of its major cities.

Safety is top of mind for many travelers as they plan out their trips for 2024 and beyond. But for those in the LGBTQ community, and their allies, knowing which countries are welcoming towards gay travelers is an important consideration. Part of measuring that sentiment is knowing where residents stand on rights, including same-sex marriage. The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about issues and attitudes shaping the world, released a new study showing which country’s residents support same-sex marriage the most, and which countries have the lowest level of support.

Spain now has the world’s most powerful passport, according to a new index.

Anyone looking for the best train trips in Europe to rival flying was given a boost by the reopening of the Paris-Berlin night train this month. Likewise, it's good news for travelers passing under the English Channel, as many new train startups are throwing their hat in the ring to operate this route.

Call it “Viking swimming,” “freezing plunges,” "polar plunge," “ice swimming” or “bear plunges,” among other names. It can be done in groups or by yourself, naked, in swimsuits or in costume and generally wearing a warm hat since, after all, it is a winter activity and very popular at this time of the year. Even a Santa hat seems appropriate.