More than 40 million Americans visited Europe last year, checking out amazing cities, fascinating history, cultural icons and dazzling landscapes. In 2024, the number of US travelers visiting Europe surged, with 40.2 million Americans flying to the continent. As travelers increasingly seek out unique destinations, certain European countries have seen a rise in popularity, with Western and Central Europe emerging as key favorites. Here’s the top 10, according to Travel and Tour World: United Kingdom  I’ve been lucky enough to visit all of them, and they’re terrific. England is, of course, home to London, which is one of the great Read more

For many years, The New York Times has been delivering a solid, -thought-out list of the 52 best places to go in the world for any given year. For 2025, their list includes a few of my fave places in the world, including Western Australia, Sydney, New York City and the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario, Canada, where my wife and I piloted a 42-foot craft from Le Boat on our own last June (and survived). Also making the list was Detroit, which the Times noted has undergone a remarkable renaissance, something I witnessed on a visit in July of last Read more

It was at the end of the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019. The next year’s game was slated for Chicago, and someone had to take an NBA basketball signed by the legendary Michael Jordan and escort it safely to Chicago. Lisa Nucci, who’s now Chief Marketing Officer for the city of Chicago’s tourism office, Choose Chicago, was Director of Marketing for the Chicago Bulls at the time (she was later Senior Director and Executive Director of Marketing) and was given the task of shepherding the invaluable ball to the Windy City. So, how did she handle Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – The walk-in gingerbread house at the Fairmont Hotel was a big hit. Likewise the barking sea lions at Pier 39. But the thing that our almost-four-year-old grandson loved the most about his first-ever visit to San Francisco was the same thing as many visitors; the cable cars. As someone who grew up a half-hour from the city, I have been in San Francisco hundreds of times. But yesterday marked only the second time I had visited with a grandchild, and the first time with one who could walk and talk and understand what they were looking at Read more

New York City is the most-visited large city in the U.S. and has welcomed roughly 64.3 million travellers this year, hitting 97% of its record-setting 2019 visitation level of nearly 67 million. Time Out reports NYC saw strong domestic travel (particularly from Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and Los Angeles) who mostly stayed overnight here. The U.K. remains the largest source of international travelers at 1.1 million visitors in 2024. Following that is Canada with about 1 million visitors, then in decreasing order, France, Brazil, Italy, China, Germany, Mexico, Australia and Spain. City tourism officials say they expect to surpass pre-pandemic Read more

It’s a busy time of year for travel. But, if you’re planning a last-minute getaway, here are some tips to keep in mind. AVOID PEAK TRAVEL DAYS If you can, avoid travelling on traditionally busy days such as Dec. 24 and 26, and also Dec. 31 or January 2. Christmas Day or New Year’s Day are likely better. A friend of mine flew to Mexico from Toronto on Christmas Day a few years ago and said the airport was almost empty. This also can be difficult, but try to avoid peak days such as Sunday, Jan. 5, which is the Read more