Where Lonely Planet staffers traveled in August

Monet Hambrick likes to say, "If kids live there, kids can visit."

American Airlines has several new flight options for travelers eager to see the Colosseum in Rome, or take in the Prado’s art collection in Madrid.

The first half of August saw three of the biggest travel startup fundraises of the year: Flyr ($295 million), Archer Aviation ($230 million), and Oyo ($173 million).

The Olympic Games in Paris generated a lot of excitement around the cleanup project of the Seine River, where triathlon and swimming competitions took place. And there’s more to come: Mayor Anne Hidalgo plans to open three public swimming spots on the Seine by next summer, and similar projects are in the works in Boston, London and Amsterdam.

The travel booking landscape is rapidly transforming, with direct bookings on the rise and reshaping the competition. What’s driving this shift? Skift Research explores these pivotal changes in our new report: “Direct Bookings vs. OTAs: Analyzing the Shift in U.S. Travel Booking Trends.”

Sep 2, 2024 • 6 min read

Once rather unknown to travelers, the Urla district in Turkey’s seaside Izmir province has recently been propelled into the limelight. That's thanks to a string of newly minted Michelin-starred restaurants (three with the famed stars, and three with sustainability recognition)—and trail of inventive and boutique wine producers called the Urla Wine Route. The area is a year-round reprieve that has managed to preserve and capitalize on its natural beauty; olive groves, fruit orchards, and vineyards here have become ground zero for the reinvention of modern Aegean cuisine and wine, inspired and sustained by the region’s fruitful lands. Today, Urla beckons with culinary delights, cultural treasures, and design-first hotels—here's how to experience the new nucleus of Turkey's fine-dining scene.

Traveling during hurricane season, which spans from June to November, can be both thrilling and precarious.

Would you take a free trip to Epstein island? It’s a question that Zoë Kravitz’s debut film asks and also answers: perhaps yes, if you need a vacation badly enough. But you’ll also sorely regret it. The film follows down-on-her-luck cater waiter Frida (Naomi Ackie) who, after using her credentials to sneak into the gala at which she’s meant to be pouring Champagne, meets-cute with tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum, with a name more evocative of Elon Musk—consider him a conglomerate). King is re-assimilating to society following a narrowly-skirted cancellation for vaguely defined and sexually suspicious maybe-crimes. By the end of the night, she and her friend (always bring a buddy!) have been whisked aboard a private jet replete with halfway-handsome bachelors and a few other beautiful ladies, bound for King’s private island that, presumably, sits somewhere in the Caribbean.

Aug 20, 2024 • 7 min read

Hundreds of flights were disrupted on Saturday after a pair of scissors went missing at a Japanese airport, local media reported.

Emily is still in Paris. In the first half of Emily in Paris season four, the intrepid PR executive continues her march through the City of Light’s cobblestone streets like a Energizer bunny ensconced in clashing patterns. She just can’t help herself. As in season three, Emily and her merry band of cosmopolitans take their antics to places new as well as old, both in and out of Paris—Claude Monet’s home an hour outside the city in Giverny is one, three Michelin-starred haute restaurant L'Ambroisie another.