BEIJING — Icy conditions trapped thousands of motorists on highways in central China as snow and freezing rain snarled travel by air, train and road during the annual Lunar New Year holiday rush. A Chinese travel blogger said she and her boyfriend were waiting with others Tuesday for de-icing work to be completed after covering … Read more
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Málaga and spent most of his life in France, but it was arguably in Barcelona that his evolution as the most celebrated artist of the 20th century began. The family moved to Barcelona in 1895 when Picasso was 13 and he lived and studied there for nine years before … Read more
The UK is blessed with countless ancient sites, many of which are easily accessible to the public, and often free to enjoy. Some are still being excavated and can offer us valuable new insights into what life would have been like for our distant ancestors. Whether it’s an iron age hill fort, Neolithic standing stones, … Read more
It’s a controversial opinion, but Rome’s major sites are overrated. Crowded, costly and utterly devoid of charm, the city’s most visited landmarks have been cheapened in the age of mass tourism into little more than a box-ticking – or selfie-taking – exercise. Which isn’t to say you shouldn’t go. Everyone should be accosted by a … Read more
Château les Oliviers de Salettes, Drôme This turreted mansion used to be part of a larger château surrounded by vineyards. Today its grounds are given over to parkland and lavender fields. The 13 double rooms and nine suites all have glorious rural views over one of France’s most unsung regions. Bedrooms are unfussily styled with … Read more
Joy is the city that surprises you – that was my verdict as I wrapped up a recent long weekend in Paris. More than a decade had passed since I’d first visited the French capital, and I can recall very little from that two-day sojourn, just scattered memories of intimidatingly dressed women shopping in Saint-Germain-des-Prés … Read more
MADRID — Spain received a record 85.1 million international tourists last year, 19% more than the year before, the National Statistics Institute reported Friday. The number of foreign visitors in 2023 surpassed the 83.5 million who went to Spain in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic ruled out most leisure travel. The U.K., France … Read more
Inside a mirrored ark, Rotterdam A museum store – but not as you know it… The minute you spot the enormous mirrored ark that is Rotterdam’s Depot, you know you’re in for something extraordinary. Open to the public, its Escher-like staircases are designed to encourage visitors to get lost; to discover objects from below, from … Read more
On a chilly winter’s day, exactly 100 years ago, four smartly dressed men boarded a train in Edinburgh. Willie Jackson and his son Laurence were both farmers, dapper Thomas Murray bred sheep and cattle, and portly Robin Welsh was a member of Edinburgh city council. At 54, he was a little older than his pals. … Read more
LIMA, Peru — Peru’s government on Wednesday backtracked on plans to outsource the sale of entry tickets to Machu Picchu to a private company, a week after protesters blocked access to the country’s most famous tourist attraction and rail service to the area was suspended. Despite the resolution, the streets, hotels and restaurants around the … Read more
