Summer Travel Destinations

Summer travel guides covering peak-season destinations — heatwave-proof itineraries, festival calendars, and how to find quiet corners when everyone else is on the same beach.

  • Sunset over Boston skyline with vibrant twilight hues

    Boston

    Walk the Freedom Trail in two hours or take three days — Boston rewards both. The North End alone justifies the trip.

  • Globe at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida

    Ios

    Ios has a party reputation that overshadows everything else — Homer’s tomb, Manganari beach, and tavernas in the Old Port worth your whole afternoon.

  • Tournai, Belgium cityscape with medieval architecture, vibrant flags, and cobblestone square under a cloudy sky.

    Belgium

    Belgium packs medieval canals, 1,500 beer varieties, and two distinct cultures into a country smaller than West Virginia.

  • Skiers enjoying Alpine skiing at Stubai Glacier, Austria.

    Austria

    Hallstatt is worth rearranging your entire Austria itinerary. Vienna’s coffee houses, though, are where you actually understand this country.

  • SIDE Design Hotel Hamburg pool amenity

    Hamburg

    Speicherstadt’s red-brick warehouses sit on oak piles over tidal canals — at night, 800 spotlights turn the whole district into something worth rerouting your trip for.

  • Aerial view of the Cesky Krumlov Town in Czech Republic

    Czech Republic

    Prague gets all the attention, but the Czech Republic’s 2,000+ castles and 14 UNESCO sites are spread across the whole country.

  • Monument in Omaha Beach, Normandy

    Normandy

    Mont Saint-Michel at low tide, with the causeway still wet — that’s the version most visitors miss by arriving at the wrong hour.

  • Panoramic view of the Tallinn, Estonia coast and harbor

    Estonia

    Tallinn’s Old Town is medieval Europe at its most intact — and somehow Estonia also runs one of the world’s most advanced digital governments.

  • Trolltunga Cliff and Fjord View Norway

    Norway

    Sognefjord alone justifies the flight. But Norway’s real hook is how easy it is to move between Arctic wilderness and a functional, walkable city.

  • Aerial view of Belvedere Brașov, Romania

    Brașov

    The Black Church alone justifies the detour — largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul, sitting quietly in a square most tourists rush through.

  • Autumn in the Central Park, New York

    New York

    New York City alone could fill a week — but skip the state and you’ll miss Niagara Falls, the Adirondacks, and the Hudson Valley.

  • North Dakota Heritage Center exterior

    North Dakota

    North Dakota’s night sky alone is worth the detour. Add the Badlands, Teddy Roosevelt’s park, and trails Lewis & Clark once walked.

  • new-hampshire destination image

    New Hampshire

    New Hampshire packs more into a long weekend than most states manage in a week — fall foliage, White Mountain summits, and a seacoast that actually delivers.

  • Aerial view of La Salvaje Beach Barinatxe, Sopelana, Basque Country, Spain with surfers and cliffs.

    Basque Coast

    San Sebastián has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else on earth. The pintxos bars alone justify the trip.

  • Rathaus Passau, Germany: Historic building along the Danube River

    Germany

    Neuschwanstein gets the crowds, but the real Germany is a Bavarian beer hall at 11am on a Tuesday with locals who never left.

  • Downtown Calgary sky in Alberta, Canada

    Calgary

    Calgary pulls off something rare: a city that still feels like itself. The Stampede is real, the Rockies are an hour out, and the food scene no longer needs an asterisk.

  • Belgian chocolate welcome gift box at Sapphire House Hotel, Antwerp

    Antwerp

    The diamond district gets all the press, but Rubens’ actual paintings inside the Cathedral of Our Lady are what stop you cold.

  • Bratislava, Slovakia

    Bratislava

    Bratislava borders both Austria and Hungary — the only capital that does. That quirk of geography explains everything about this city.

  • Christmas-season Italian café in Siena

    Piedmont

    Alba’s truffle fair runs one week a year. The rest of the time, Piedmont keeps its best things quietly to itself.

  • Beach Chairs at Kamari Beach Santorini, Greece

    Santorini

    Oia’s sunset crowd arrives 2 hours early. Skip it — Imerovigli has the same caldera view with half the people.

  • Best Things to Do in Bonn

    Bonn

    Beethoven’s actual birthplace sits at Bonngasse 20 — a rare 18th-century survivor holding 1,000+ exhibits, including the hearing aids.

  • The alt text for the image should be "Vintage red bus parked in front of The Verb Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts."

    Massachusetts

    Boston’s Freedom Trail covers 400 years of American history in a 2.5-mile walk. Massachusetts rewards the curious traveler who goes deeper.

  • Bird's eye view of a vibrant hockey game in a brightly lit arena Close-up action of players on the hockey rink Comprehensive view of the intense hockey game from a medium distance

    North America

    One continent, arctic tundra to Caribbean sand. North America rewards the specific traveler more than the checklist one.

  • Aerial View of Brandon, South Dakota in Winter

    South Dakota

    West of the Missouri River, South Dakota shifts fast — Great Plains give way to Black Hills forests, canyon walls, and lakes most people never reach.