Chicago is widely known as one of the best food cities in the world. There are 16 restaurants with Michelin stars, including the three-star Smyth. Here are some great places to eat, based on my latest visit in August. THE PUBLICAN The Publican, located in the Fulton Market/West Loop area blew me away with some of the best, and most interesting, food I’ve had anywhere. The ham chop is a double pork chop cooked sous vide with fresh hay and then finished in the oven. The hay gives the meat a slightly grassy taste, and it comes out with the Read more

MSN Travel has an excellent story on its website that shows off some of the best small towns and cities of Europe. The story lists a smaller city or village in all 46 member countries, so you’ll find something in all your favourite destinations, including Italy, France, England, Portugal and Croatia. I must admit there are several I’d never heard of but look fabulous, such as Dinant, Belgium, Vianden, Luxembourg and Castle Combe in the delightful Cotswolds area of England, where I spent some time a few years ago. Others I know (Colmar, France, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and Atrani, Italy, as Read more

CHICAGO – It’s a funny thing. As my wife and I recently toured the wonderful Obama Presidential Center on the south side of Chicago, which opened in June of this year, I kept comparing Obama’s message of hope and his reasoned approach to politics to the current administration in Washington. After having spent a half hour or so tracing his Chicago roots and his early years in the White House, my wife turned to me and asked what I thought. I’m a dual Canadian-American citizen who was born and raised in northern California, with a conservative but socially progressive judge Read more

MOST EXPENSIVE FALL COLOUR SPOTS IN CANADA Chasing the fall colours is one of Canada’s biggest domestic travel moments, and new research found Banff is actually the most expensive place to do it — $1,258 for a couple over two nights. Searches for “fall colours” are up 222% this past month. To see where the real splurge happens, Casinos Analyzer Canada priced a full weekend away for two using 2026 listings across ten of the country’s best-known fall colour destinations, including accommodation, fuel, mandatory park permits and groceries. Here’s how the ten compare (couple, 2 nights): Banff, AB — $1,258 Read more

New routes to China, Ireland, France, Croatia, and Norway. New daytime flights from Toronto to London. And more flights to Shanghai, Lima and Tenerife. Air Canada today (Sept. 3, 2026) announced a significant expansion of its global network for Summer 2027, adding five new international destinations and seven new routes, along with increased schedules on key routes. From its Vancouver trans-Pacific hub, Air Canada will be launching year-round services to Guangzhou, China. From its Toronto global hub, Air Canada will begin service to Oslo, Norway; Shannon, Ireland; and Nice, France, while resuming the London Heathrow Daytripper, boosting its Shanghai flights Read more

More than nine in 10 visitors to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto said they are likely to return to Ontario for a leisure trip within the next two years, according to a visitor intercept study released today (Sept. 2) by Destination Ontario. Conducted in partnership with Destination Toronto and Context Research Group Inc., the study surveyed visitors during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto and found high visitor satisfaction, positive perceptions of Ontario and strong intent to return. It remains to be seen if those opinions translate into actual visits, but it’s quite encouraging to see numbers like Read more