Practical Traveler
In Europe, Is the VAT Refund Worth Your Time?
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
Visitors can recover as much as 20 percent on purchases made in Europe, but it can be a hassle.
Look beyond the city center for innovative shops, unusual art and casual cafes.
Visitors can recover as much as 20 percent on purchases made in Europe, but it can be a hassle.
With a three-part plan, the Frugal Traveler turned all those offers for free miles into a ticket to his own paradise.
Luxury hotels and a high-speed train come to this hillside city in China.
A rainy trip along the historical and southern coast is anything but a washout.
Eager to gain free travel vouchers and hotel rooms, some passengers have turned getting bumped into an art form.
Travelers who have become accustomed to free services at midscale hotels are unprepared for the fees tacked on by luxury chains.
A 1950s-era terminal at San Francisco International Airport now offers art, free Wi-Fi, 350 power outlets and upscale food.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates, untouched by the region’s unrest, has been on a very high-end shopping spree.
The Three Passes Route maximizes views and minimizes time in basecamp.
Paris’s green movement might have arrived a bit late, but with its bike-sharing program, eco-hotels and anticipated car-sharing plan, it has taken hold and is growing fast.
We asked readers to submit their best travel photos and share the back story. Here is a curated selection of the images.
Along one of the world’s classic drives: mile after mile of sweeping vistas of sculptured cliffs, towers and arches framed against the roiling turquoise sea.
Leaving the main trail behind, and taking the less-traveled Three Passes Loop.
Once aloof from the spendthrift ways of neighboring Dubai, Abu Dhabi is now ticking off items on a five-star shopping list.
A rundown of some of the best winter retreats for extreme skiers, families, nonskiers and luxury-seekers.
An insider’s guide to what to eat, drink and do in New York from the staff of The Times, including a new category on favorite day trips outside of the five boroughs.
In Alexander Lobrano’s new column, Eurofile, the author of “Hungry for Paris” writes about the best tables (and beds) on the continent.
From the beaches of Mexico to the wilds of Kurdistan, the places on this year’s list take you to the end of the world and back.