Culture & Experiences

A man stands on a bridge overlooking Stockholm's rooftops and colourful historic buildings (Credit: Getty Images)

'You're not to think you're anything special': Why Swedes hate to stand out

Swedes prize equality, dislike boasting and often prefer to blend in. The century-old idea of Jantelagen helps explain why – and offers visitors a key to decoding Swedish culture.

A wooden building with two cannons on the grass in front, and mist in front of a woodland hillside behind (Credit: Alamy)

'The forgotten empire': When Russia colonised California

For nearly 30 years, part of Sonoma was ruled by Tsarist Russia, and it played a pivotal – if little-known – role in shaping the US.

A blonde woman smiles as she holds a pan of paella (Credit: Getty Images)

'Paella is just for lunch' and other unwritten rules for visiting Spain

Spain is famous for its laid-back lifestyle, but beneath the long lunches and late nights are social codes that shape everyday life. Our expert explains how to read them.

A blonde woman with dreadlocks photographs a street with colourful houses (Credit: Alamy)

Is 'Tiny Tourism' the antidote to mass tourism? I went to Dublin to try it out

A new travel philosophy preaches skipping tourist sights and doing everyday things instead. But will it really be a trip to Dublin if I don't visit Temple Bar?

People sitting in a garden at picnic tables with a wooden farmhouse in the background (Credit: Martin Mark)

Why Estonians invite strangers into their back yards each summer

Each summer, home gardens, garages and even bedroom windows across Estonia become temporary cafes open to anyone.

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The ancient Japanese philosophy that helps us accept our flaws

Japan's ancient philosophy that helps us accept our flaws

Can embracing imperfection bring greater peace? Japan's ancient tradition of kintsugi suggests it can.

Culture & Experiences

How to do German beer gardens without looking like a tourist

From bringing your own food to one-litre mugs, these are the implicit rules of traditional Bavarian beer gardens.

Culture & Experiences

What if you had to learn sign language to order your coffee?

At London's Dialogue Hub, customers are asked to use sign language to order their coffee.

Culture & Experiences

Why this US city draws millions of pizza tourists every year

New Haven, Connecticut is well-known for its thin-crust pizza. But what makes it so special?

Culture & Experiences

How a daring experiment became global skydiving

How a daring experiment sparked a global skydiving obsession

We trace skydiving's origins and reveal the pivotal innovations that shaped today's parachute culture.

Culture & Experiences

Köttbullar: The secret behind the iconic Swedish meatballs

Ikea’s meatballs turn 40. We asked Swedes how Köttbullar became a global phenomenon.

Culture & Experiences

Well World

A large indoor thermal pool under a domed roof with people swimming or resting on the curved edge (Credit: Alamy)

Inside the town that invented the spa

Long before wellness became a global industry, a small town in eastern Belgium shaped how Europeans thought about health, leisure and water.

Rediscovering America

A horse and buggy outside a victorian style house along the coast of Mackinac Island with lush greenery around it (Credit: Mackinac Island Tourism Board)

A US island with no cars and 600 horses

In the midst of "the car capital of the world", there's a serene vehicle-free island home to 600 people and a once-upon-a-time way of life.

Iñaki Arrieta Baro holds a photo of a Basque arborglyph (Credit: Haley Harrison)

How Europe's oldest language ended up on US trees

The US' Basque immigrants turned to sheepherding in order to survive. Today, their legacy can be found in unique wooden tree carvings they left throughout the American West.

Thoughtful Travel

A woman stands beside a suitcase at a tram stop at night while looking at her mobile phone (Credit: Getty Images)

The unseen price of travelling safely as a woman

Women-only rooms are in high demand – and sometimes cost more. What does that tell us about the price of feeling safe?

The places fighting to be taken off the World Heritage List

Americans are rethinking the 'big summer getaway'. Where are they going?

A view of a favela in Rio at sunrise with the sea and islands in the background (Credit: Alamy)

Tourism to Rio's favelas is booming. Is visiting them safe and ethical?

The SpeciaList : Global guides from local experts

Andrew Zimmern bends over a fruit stand and holds small orange fruits in his hand (Credit: Courtesy of The Travel Channel)

The five meals Andrew Zimmern will never forget

The celebrity chef and lifelong traveller has eaten it all, but these are the five meals that he'll remember for the rest of his life.

William Hanson wears white dressing gown and shushes someone in a hotel corridor (Credit: Olly Courtney for Hotels.com)

A British etiquette expert's tips on hotel manners

From being noisy in corridors to thieving toiletries, William Hanson reveals the hotel habits that horrify him most.

Antoni Porowski wears a grey button down and stands in front of the glass windows of a restaurant (Credit: National Geographic/ Amy Browning)

Queer Eye's chef on his favourite meals from around the world

Celebrity chef Antoni Porowski dishes on "one of the best bites I've ever had in my life" and shares why he always looks for a grandma when he travels.