A mere hour by road from Mexico City, the mystical town of Tepotzlan in the state of Morelos, is a perfect escape from the metropolis. City dwellers, tourists and spiritual seekers alike, head along the winding mountain roads, leaving the smog and chaos of the city behind. An ancient town…

Tour guides often refer to El Salvador as “the country of 40 minutes.”  Because it is the smallest country in Central America, flanked by Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the northwest, you can easily hike a volcano in the morning, grab lunch at the beach, and end your…

Cape Cod begins with a curve on the map and a change in mood. One hour south of Boston, the city gives way to a 400-square-mile hook of dunes, harbours and cedar-shingled towns where life still moves to the pull of tide and season. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Cape…

Somewhere between Iceland and Scotland, the Faroe Islands rise from the North Atlantic. Of the eighteen islands that make up this Danish autonomous territory, Vágar is the one most travelers encounter first, its airport the sole entry point for everyone arriving by air. Vágar happens to be among the most…

Stonehenge is perhaps the most instantly recognizable prehistoric structure on Earth. Its massive standing stones, arranged in concentric rings and crowned with horizontal lintels, have drawn pilgrims, scholars, romantics, and tourists for millennia. Yet despite centuries of inquiry, Stonehenge continues to resist complete understanding, a monument defined as much by…

In the hierarchy of hotel service, no figure is more misunderstood, underutilized, or quietly indispensable than the concierge. Stand at the front desk of a great hotel and you may notice a discreet wooden podium to one side, presided over by a professionally dressed staff member whose purpose, to the…

There is a particular kind of place in this world that doesn’t call out to you. It simply exists, waiting for the traveler who has finally learned that the most meaningful destinations are the ones that ask something of you in return. Kagawa is one of those places. In the…

Sweden’s second city opens onto 2,000 islands, most of them car-free, all of them within reach of a tram ticket. On Sweden’s west coast, the city of Gothenburg gives way to water. Trams run to their final stops. Industrial docks thin into marinas. Then granite replaces asphalt. Beyond the harbor…

Belfast had never been on my agenda, but it was the lure of the award-winning museum, Titanic Belfast, which initially captured my attention. I’m so glad it did, or I would never have discovered what a captivating city Belfast is. When I subsequently found out that it’s possible to take…

Inside the vibrant district of style, art, and food, expanding Miami’s travel landscape In just over two decades, the Miami district of Wynwood has been making its own distinctive mark on the city’s wider landscape thanks to a growing arts and lifestyle presence here – and all inside what was…

Some destinations define a category so completely that they become the default choice. But the familiar is not always the most rewarding. “Destination swapping” is the idea of trading an iconic, often over-visited place for an alternative that delivers the same core appeal, while offering something deeper, less crowded, or…

For decades, citizens of North America traveling to Europe have enjoyed a reasonably uncomplicated bureaucracy. Pack your bags, grab your passport, board your flight, and clear a quick immigration line. No pre-registration, no digital forms, no biometric scans. That era isn’t entirely over,  but it is changing, and every North…