Vancouver getting ready for its Olympic moment

As snow falls on the craggy peaks providing the stunning backdrop to this glimmering city on the Pacific, Vancouver prepares to welcome thousands of athletes and visitors from around the world for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. More than 5,500 athletes and coaches, almost 11,000 members of the media and up to 350,000 visitors are [...]

Sample Switzerland’s cities before heading for the hills

Swiss cities remind me of the kid at high school who’s great at sports, has perfect hair, the best girlfriend, and the teachers all love him. He’s just too perfect. Sometimes you just want to see him trip or get a pimple. For me — and most travelers — the country’s mountains provide more real [...]

Plan a winter weekend in Big Sky

You know you’re in Big Sky, Montana, when: 1. You have the slopes to yourself Big Sky may not share the glory of the glitzy resort towns in Colorado and Utah, but with more snow and open space, this undersung skiing nirvana can rest on its own laurels. From the top of 11,166-foot Lone Peak [...]

Sun Valley, Idaho: History, celebrities and skiing

It seems everyone who spends time around Sun Valley has stories to tell of celebrity encounters. They stood in line at the bookstore last week behind Bruce Springsteen, or at Tully’s Coffee the other day with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They performed in community theater with Bruce Willis in neighboring Hailey or introduced themselves to Larry David [...]

Get moving to visit Washington’s Enchantment Lakes

Midwinter’s a fine time to daydream about summer backpacking. But if you want to stay at Washington’s Enchantment Lakes — and it seems that much of the backpacking world does — you need to wake up and get moving. Spending the night at one of the most beautiful high-country spots in the Northwest takes hard [...]

Super Bowl, Miami: All South Florida wants to play

This year’s Super Bowl is in Miami, but all South Florida wants to play. The region’s three international airports give visitors the flexibility to try a variety of beaches, restaurants and social scenes on the mainland and south into the Florida Keys, said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee. “It’s [...]

London: 5 free things to do on a winter’s day

Prices in London have dropped in the last six months because businesses are running many sales and because the U.S. dollar has gained in buying power against the British pound. Yet London is still expensive. What many visitors don’t realize, though, is how much there is to do for free in the city—much of it [...]