I love a good travel list, so today I’m going OVERBOARD with three fun ones: the top cities in Europe, the best places to visit in Canada, and the best beaches in Australia. I also look at Las Vegas tourism, Air Canada’s plan to increase flights to India, and plans for Hilo, Hawaii. THE BEST 100 CITIES IN EUROPE The experts at Resonance Consultancy, who take an exhaustive look at the world’stop cities every year, have come out with a list of the best cities in Europe for 2026. The company looked at 34 factors, including livability, prosperity and nightlife, Read more
Rome
Bloomberg recently came out with nice recommendations on great places to travel in 2026. Among their suggestions were Taipei, Corsica, Lake Louise, San Francisco and Scotland. I’m a big fan of Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean I visited back in 2009. The food (especially the wine, cheese and seafood) is quite good, the coastline magical, and the surprisingly rugged mountains great for hiking. Bloomberg noted a growth in new boutique hotels and called the island “the perfect blend between private luxury and uncrowded, European summer bliss.” Notwithstanding those comments, I’d aim for a visit in late April or Read more
According to travel app Skyscanner’s latest research, while 66% of Canadians are planning to head abroad in 2026, only 48% have taken the plunge and booked their flights. Destination indecision and concerns over cost are reported as the biggest booking barriers, as nearly half (45%) share they are still deciding on destination, and 43% are still trying to find the best deals. Canadian travellers’ perception of flight pricing in 2026 is not the reality of the great value deals on offer. While 69% of Canadians think their round-trip flights are going to cost more than $500 this year, Read more
Canadian travellers have spoken. Air Canada Vacations has announced the winners of its first-ever Travellers’ Top Picks Awards, a celebration of Canadian wanderlust that drew over 100,000 entries and sparked a nationwide conversation about the places Canadians dream of exploring. Travellers voted across 10 categories curated by Air Canada Vacations experts, sending their favourite destinations to the summit of Canadians’ travel wish lists. The choices are mostly excellent, and I was quite pleased to see a few personal faves (Rome, Singapore, New York City and two Hawai’i destinations) make the list. “Canadians love to travel, which is what inspired us Read more
There’s an old saying that all roads lead to Rome. It appears the same goes for airplanes and Internet travel searches. With the funeral for Pope Francis taking place this weekend, and the election of a new pope coming in a few weeks at the Vatican, Expedia says global flight searches for Rome are up 125% for travel this week versus the same period last year. US residents are seemingly looking to make it to Rome soon, as flight searches are up 250% on Expedia.com and lodging searches up 35%. For Canada, flight searches to The Eternal City on Read more
