Travel advice, ideas & expert tips

The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Six great Kuala Lumpur attractions to add to your Malaysia itinerary

Top attractions in Kuala Lumpur include the Petronas Twin Towers, Merdeka Square, the Batu Caves and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. The Petronas Twin Towers Between 1998 and 2004, the Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world. They’re still the tallest twin towers,…

A model of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, on display in the Architecture Gallery of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia: Discovering Islamic architecture in Kuala Lumpur

From mudbrick mosques rising out of the Sahel to turquoise-tiled minarets in Central Asia, Islamic architecture is far more diverse than most people expect. Kuala Lumpur’s Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia brings these global traditions together under one roof. The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali…

Mount Vernon and slavery: Confronting the uncomfortable legacy behind George Washington’s estate

Behind the grand mansion and formal gardens of Mount Vernon lies a quieter, more troubling story. Visiting the reconstructed slave quarters at Mount Vernon forces a reckoning with George Washington and slavery, and with choices that shaped the early United States. It looks like a…

The Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Germany.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin: Ticket prices, hours, parking & visitor guide (2026)

A neoclassical temple rises on a plinth above Museum Island, housing Germany's finest collection of 19th-century art. The building looks more suited to ancient Athens than industrial-age Berlin — which is precisely what architect Friedrich August Stüler intended when he modelled it on a Greek…

Magritte Museum, Brussels: Ticket prices, hours, parking & visitor guide (2026)

The world's largest collection of René Magritte's work occupies a five-storey neoclassical building on Place Royale in Brussels, Belgium. Over 200 paintings, drawings, sculptures, and films trace the Belgian surrealist's career from his early commercial work to the bowler-hatted men and impossible skies that made…

Douglas Coupland's Digital Orca in Vancouver, Canada.

A complete guide to visiting Digital Orca in Vancouver

A pixelated orca breaches from Jack Poole Plaza in three-dimensional blocky form, its black-and-white cubes catching light off Vancouver's harbour. The Digital Orca sculpture turns an icon of Canada's West Coast — the killer whale — into something that belongs equally to video games and…

The Hiram M Chittenden locks in Seattle, Washington.

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Seattle: Salmon, ships and the city’s overlooked soul

A short trip north of downtown reveals a side of Seattle that guidebooks often skim past. At the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, engineering, ecology and local identity quietly intersect. In the hotel lobby stands my very unofficial tour guide. “Howdy,” she says. “I’m going to…

The Reynisfjara black sand beach on Iceland's south coast.

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, Iceland: 2026 visitor guide

Iceland's most famous beach is also its most dangerous. The jet-black volcanic sand, towering basalt columns, and dramatic sea stacks at Reynisfjara make for extraordinary photographs — but the Atlantic's sneaker waves have killed at least six people here since 2007, including one in August…

The Skógafoss waterfall in southern Iceland.

Skógafoss Waterfall, Iceland: Ticket prices, hours, parking & visitor guide

One of Iceland's most powerful waterfalls drops 60 metres in a single, thundering sheet of water that sends spray so far you'll feel it from 50 metres away. On sunny days, that same mist from the Skógafoss waterfall creates vivid rainbows — sometimes two at…

The Seljalandsfoss waterfall in southern Iceland.

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland: Parking & visitor guide (2026)

It's tempting to drive past Seljalandsfoss in southern Iceland. From the Ring Road, it's just another cascade tumbling down from the cliffs. But walk across that car park, and the scale hits you. Then you notice the pathway disappearing behind the curtain of water, and…