Which art museums in Madrid should you visit?

When I visited Paris last year for the first time, I couldn't wait to eat my way around the city.

Dream tips like sailing around the Greek Islands or along the Amalfi Coast are only for the rich and famous, right? Not anymore.

Looking for a new museum to add to your travel to-do list? TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) has released the Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Museums of 2018, including the top 10 worldwide and the top 10 in the United States, with some surprising frontrunners. The findings also highlight bookable ways to see each winner—think VIP tours and scavenger hunts—with some offering the added perk of allowing you to skip the lines to get in.

Seen from the outside, Red Jane, a new bakery in the center of Chania, a Greek port city on the island of Crete, looks like a Berlin nightclub, with no obvious sign and a concrete facade covered in graffiti. Inside, it might pass for a New York boutique: There are Italian tiles on the floor and an exposed-brick ceiling and on a long red marble counter, lit by minimalist pendant lamps, pastries are laid out like jewels in a glass vitrine. Owned by Nikos Tsepetis, the hotelier behind the nearby beach resort Ammos (a favorite of the art and design crowd), the space is the first fully realized interiors project overseen by the London-based lighting and furniture designer Michael Anastassiades. Eyal Schwartz, the former head baker and co-owner of London’s E5 Bakehouse, created the menu. On its opening day this month, Red Jane sold out of its chocolate-filled croissants, koulouri (Greek sesame-topped bagels) and baklava swirls by noon. Locals lingered for an hour after, despite the fact that Tsepetis and Anastassiades designed the space without tables.

It’s the opposite of a motorway. As I drive into the Cumeengeera Valley, scraggly summer hedgerows slap my wing mirrors. Punky tufts of grass on the boreen work like brushes, scrubbing the car’s undercarriage. The mountains around me make me feel the size a grain of rice in a giant green bowl.

There are high-speed trains and then there are high-speed maglev trains. While there are plenty of examples of the former (in the UK, in Spain, in France and even in Florida), only one of the latter is in commercial operation today: The Shanghai Maglev Train (SMT), also known as the Shanghai Transrapid Maglev Train. This unique train runs between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and the Shanghai’s financial district every 15 minutes and is the fastest commercial train in the world.

Ibiza is a relatively small island with a huge reputation. That reputation has evolved over time, from a beach destination, to a nightlife haven, to a wellness destination, to a place where travelers can pick and choose to create whatever experience they want to have on the island. At least two things have remained true throughout the years: Spain’s third-largest Balearic Islands is jaw-droppingly beautiful, and its travel cachet shows no signs of waning, especially when you see the quality of Airbnbs you can book for the ultimate island getaway. These are some of the most luxurious, secluded, and comfortable Ibiza Airbnbs.

When the very first Helsinki Biennial launched in 2021, it was a pretty local affair as the world was just emerging from the Covid 19 pandemic. So this year’s biennial, that runs until the fall, is in effect the first one to attract the world’s art lovers. And it’s free, in part to promote Helsinki’s visual art scene at home and abroad. While Helsinki has a long history of design and architecture, contemporary Finnish art is not as well known. The biennial aims to redress this and it has done so by transforming the Finnish capital into a vibrant hub of creativity. From awe-inspiring sculptures to mind-bending installations and captivating performances, this new biennial embraces both established and emerging artists in a mesmerizing showcase of artistic excellence.

In the first week of July, the earth smashed records for the hottest days ever recorded. In Europe, temperatures are soaring above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, wildfires have been raging throughout Greece, and certain parts of southern Italy saw record-breaking temperatures of 117 degrees on July 19. Temperatures for the weekend ahead are forecasted to hit 111 degrees in certain parts of Europe. 

A historic store in Barcelona has become so frustrated with tourists snapping selfies rather than spending money, it has imposed an entry fee.

Backpacking can be one of the most rewarding ways to travel – with little more than your clothes on your back and an onward ticket in your hand. But where are the world’s best backpacking destinations? We asked our readers, and here are the results.

Spain’s islands – from the Canaries to the Balearics – are some of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe, and travellers keep returning to them again and again. As their popularity grows, however, so do the crowds, and visitors are increasingly looking for alternatives. It's time to look beyond Tenerife, Ibiza and Mallorca, Spain has so many other special islands to explore. Here’s our guide to Spain’s secret islands that you never even knew existed. Shhh… don’t tell everyone they’re here.