‘Remain vigilant’: Europe’s most heavily pickpocketed tourist spots revealed

Travelers looking for a budget break in Europe this year have something to smile about. A new report that surveyed cities on the continent found costs are down in 60% of destinations.

On my twenty-plus trips to Seoul, I generally steered clear of Gangnam, the district south of the Han River immortalized by the South Korean rapper PSY’s 2012 smash hit “Gangnam Style.” Something, however, shifted in me while planning my recent spring jaunt. Gangbuk, the district north of the Han River—where I’d typically plant myself—started feeling a touch too familiar. Plus: how could I judge a place I hadn’t actually spent quality time in?

It’s on about our fifth Kölsch that we begin to get the idea of Cologne’s constitution. We are sitting in Päffgen, one of the traditional brewhouses that produce the pale yellow beer unique to the German city. It comes in small straight glasses (it loses its fizz quickly apparently) and each time one is emptied, another one is delivered by a waiter swinging a kranz, or circular tray, which appears to defy gravity. The process of replacement goes on until you place a beer mat on top of your glass to signal that you’ve had enough.

Nestled along the promontory overlooking the St. Lawrence River, with distinctive architecture including its iconic soaring turrets, the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is the stuff of hotel legend. One glance at the fortresslike structure and it's easy to see why many consider it the most photographed hotel in the world.

FOR MUCH OF Italy’s history, ravioli was a luxury reserved for banquet tables or feast days. All pasta was a rarefied food in the Middle Ages, but few forms captured the popular imagination as completely as stuffed pasta, considered the noblest of the species. In “The Decameron,” a 14th-century collection of stories by Giovanni Boccaccio about a group of young Florentines who abandon the city for the countryside during the plague, one of the characters, Maso del Saggio, describes an idyllic landscape to entertain the friends: “On a mountain, all of grated Parmesan cheese, dwell folk that do nought else but make macaroni and raviuoli.” Centuries later, every corner of Italy has its own version of filled pasta, which is broadly referred to as ravioli throughout the country. The “Encyclopedia of Pasta” (2009), the Italian food historian Oretta Zanini De Vita’s decades-long effort to catalog Italy’s most popular food, identifies more than 80 types of pasta ripiena (“stuffed pasta”), allowing for countless variations.

The Algarve, in southern Portugal is the most affordable European holiday destination according to the Holiday Money Report from Post Office Travel Money.

Sometimes, there's nothing better than being a tourist for the day in your own state. As a Florida resident, I'm always looking for new places to visit without traveling far from home.

A national park is meant to be an oasis — a reprieve from the traffic and crowds of urban life. Unfortunately, though, many people seek this same reprieve, meaning some national parks have become extremely crowded during peak seasons.

In April, Cooper Wallace, a nine-year-old boy from the U.K., went viral after winning the final of the Gull Screeching Championship. Despite seeming niche, the event had a huge turnout of visitors from all over Europe and led to a peak in searches on Google for the tournament and its main vocal activity.

The “City of Light” will be abuzz with activity from July 26 to August 11 as the Summer Olympics come to Paris. Officials estimate that 15 million visitors will attend The Games, along with the 10,500 athletes competing for glory.

A Japanese town, known for its near-perfect views of the iconic Mount Fuji, is fighting back against hordes of tourists.

Spain’s network of luxury and historic hotels, Paradores, is delighted to invite British holidaymakers to experience its most beautiful terraces this summer. Set in stunning locations across Spain, these terraces offer breathtaking views, exceptional gastronomy, and a chance to immerse in the local culture and history.