How To Calm Anxiety During Turbulence, According To Flight Attendants

It’s an experience all too familiar with air travelers: One minute the flight is going smoothly, and the next thing you know it feels like the plane is bumping and shaking in all directions. Turbulence is a very common part of air travel, but that doesn’t make it less unpleasant. In fact, research has shown … Read more

I’ve written about France for 20 years – here are my favourite places to visit | France holidays

Landscapes When you can gaze on the salt pans of Guérande, near Nantes, cycle through lavender fields in Drôme, in the south-east, and bask in the splendour of the Cirque de Gavarnie in the Pyrénees, you have to wonder how France got so lucky with its diverse landscapes. Most recently, the volcanic landscape of the … Read more

My top restaurants and food discoveries from 20 years of writing about France | France holidays

Standout moments from nearly 20 years of writing about travelling and eating around France include meals in legendary restaurants and the joy of a shared dinner at a chambre d’hôtes. That said, there’s a venue that can’t be underestimated as an opportunity to enjoy France’s culinary delights: the car boot picnic. Standing under the shade of an … Read more

Not just cheap beer and old buildings: an arty weekend in Prague | Prague holidays

For decades, cheap flights, nightclubs and booze made Prague one of Europe’s stag party capitals. City officials have spoken out about tourists’ drunken behaviour, but Prague remains popular among men dressed as Smurfs drinking 50 koruna (£1.70) pints of pilsner. I arrive on the train from Dresden, the German city just north of the Czech … Read more

Where and how the wealthy travel is changing

Heli-skiing on virgin snow in Antarctica for a cool $2.2 million. A polar bear safari in an “off-limits” area of Norway’s Svalbard for $300,000. How about tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas with renowned explorers for $100,000?  Big-ticket travel experiences like those are indicative of the “quiet luxury” trend which began in the world of … Read more

United Airlines starts letting customers pool frequent flyer miles

Passengers check in for United Airlines flights at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, Dec. 13, 2022. Scott Olson | Getty Images Here’s a friendship test: Would you share your frequent flyer miles with your pals? United Airlines is betting customers will be open to it. The airline on Thursday started allowing members of its … Read more

Monet happy returns: Normandy celebrates 150 years of impressionism | France holidays

“Every day I’m here, the sky and the sea are different,” says Anastasia Kharchenko, as an incessant drizzle patters on our umbrellas. “Sometimes you can’t even see the horizon because it’s so foggy, but in certain months the colours are just breathtaking.” We’re standing on a grassy bluff above the town of Étretat on Normandy’s … Read more