Frugal Traveler Blog

In New Orleans, a Trio of Thrifty Lures

By SETH KUGEL

Seth Kugel for The New York Times

Glen David Andrews performs at Three Muses.

As the Super Bowl nears, the Frugal Traveler visits host city New Orleans, where he finds free music, free culture and an almost-free martini.

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Cultured Traveler

The Lights and Nights of Reykjavik

By LIZ ALDERMAN

Andrew Testa for The New York Times

In Reykjavik, walking across a frozen lake and the club Faktory.

In winter, when the sun sets early and darkness dominates, Reykjavik offers plenty of options to escape hibernation.

Explorer

Birds of the bog: a pine grosbeak; bohemian waxwing; timber jay (gray jay).

In a Minnesota Bog, a Festival of Birds

By GUSTAVE AXELSON

Amid tiny towns and deserted dwellings sits a world-class birding site, the Sax-Zim Bog, where people from around the world travel to glimpse hard-to-spot species.

I Just Got Back From Medellín!

By HENRY ALFORD

Paul Smith for The New York Times

The cartel days are gone, and parks, museums, hotels and night life have arrived. Just don’t tell anyone you took the Pablo Escobar tour.

Slide Show: Medellín, From Sky to Street

36 Hours in Durham, N.C.

By INGRID K. WILLIAMS

In North Carolina’s re-energized Bull City, the emphasis is on culture and cuisine rather than tobacco and textiles.

Slide Show: Dining, Discs and More

Cristina Sampaio

The Getaway

3 Tips for Finding Rental Car Deals

By SUSAN STELLIN

Even though rental car prices aren’t zooming up, it can still take some effort to find the best value.

Update

Has Snowboarding Lost Its Edge?

By CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON

Brennan Linsley/Associated Press

Once the hottest thing on the slopes, snowboarding is showing signs of cooling. Here’s why.

Bites

Restaurant Report: The Grove in Toronto

By DAN SALTZSTEIN

This acclaimed new spot has an English mentality — just not the one many diners are used to.

Check In, Check Out

Hotel Review: Alfonso XIII in Seville, Spain

By GEOFFREY GRAY

Designed for a king almost a century ago, this recently renovated hotel lacks a royal feel.

Interactive Feature: The 46 Places to Go in 2013

From art in Rio to wine in China to food in Washington, D.C., here are dozens of reasons to escape and explore this year.

Share Photos From Your Trips This Year

Letters to the Editor

Photos

Slide Show

Medellín, From Sky to Street

Soar above the city and zoom down to ground level to see nature, neighborhoods and more.

Slide Show

Dining, Discs and More in Durham, N.C.

Take a bite of this town’s motor-to-mortar movement and play a round of golf in the woods on a trip around this Southern city.

Slide Show

Surfacing

Seattle’s New Showrooms

By CATHERINE M. ALLCHIN

Once home to the city’s original Auto Row, the Pike-Pine Corridor is now the epicenter of the popular Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Slide Show

Reader Photos: Why We Travel

Winning a lottery leads to a party dress pose in Arizona. See that story and more in this collection of your travel photos.

Submit Your Photo

Interactive

What I Brought Home

A mask rediscovered on a bus in Italy and shoes that evoke war service are two new items in our gallery of your souvenir stories.

Send Us Your Souvenir Pictures

Interview

Philippe Reines, senior adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Q&A;

Logging Miles (and Miles!) With Clinton

By JODI KANTOR

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chief spokesman, who has traveled to more than 100 countries with her, talks about how he packs and where he wants to go again.