Life

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN Istanbul (CNN) — Istanbul skies change with the seasons, the cloudless days and twinkling Bosphorus of summer edged out by the maritime fogs and flinty seas of the darker months. However, there’s one place in the city where the heavens always glow a rich cerulean: inside the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, popularly

By Gawon Bae, Yoonjung Seo, Chris Lau, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — The owner of a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea has avoided prison time in a highly publicized case surrounding a sorbet dessert topped with ants. On September 16, the Seoul Western District Court fined the owner of the restaurant 15 million won

By Megan Frye, CNN (CNN) — Just beyond the edges of one of the largest cities on the planet, a stretch of ancient rainforest and coastline lies mostly unknown to international travelers. The roughly 370 miles of São Paulo state’s pristine, mountainous coastline is nestled beneath the canopy of the Atlantic Forest, or Mata Atlântica

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — Beneath red tinsel and in the dim glow of club lighting, six young couples kiss, each seemingly wrapped up in their own little worlds. The intimate scene feels like a film still out of time, decade unclear, as they close their eyes and hold one another in the retro

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In 2006, a United States passport was the ultimate ticket to the world, offering its citizens a level of global access matched only by two other nations: Denmark and Finland. What a difference 20 years makes. As the Henley Passport Index reveals in its newly released 20th-anniversary report, the

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — For more than two months, Cipriani Residences has held the title of Miami’s tallest building. The three-tower luxury design has risen in the Brickell neighborhood, its wraparound terraces and airy glass promising the feel of the Italian Riviera on Biscayne Bay, topping out at 950 feet this month. But

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — Jill Shropshire turned the key in the lock and immediately felt a snap. She stood for a moment in disbelief: the key had broken off in her hand. “I wasn’t looking at what I was doing, and I just shoved it in there … I think I put it

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our roundup of travel news this week: how Asia is coping with hyper-hot weather, a terrifying incident on board a budget airline, plus the world’s busiest airports of 2025. Why Atlanta? Last year, global air travel reached a record-breaking 9.8 billion passengers, according to a report on the

By Mike Dunphy, CNN (CNN) — When American pharmacist John Stith Pemberton reached his eureka moment on May 8, 1886, his formula for what would become Coca-Cola sparked a global soft drink revolution that still reverberates today. In fact, it’s now possible to “buy the world a Coke,” as the 1970s jingle goes, in nearly

Zoe Whitfield (CNN) — So intimately tethered is the American family at the center of Karim Aïnouz’s latest movie “Rosebush Pruning” – by blood, desire, and an excessive interest in designer labels – that the arrival of any outsider would guarantee friction. When Elle Fanning’s character Martha (the girlfriend of eldest son Jack, portrayed by

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — How do you define glamour? Like the ever-elusive concept of personal style, glamour is often intangible, innate, even aura-based. It’s in the details: the socialite Lee Radziwill’s slouchy shawls and capes worn with a rock-hard blow-dry and enormous jewellery; her sister Jackie Kennedy’s valorous commitment to a silk headscarf

By Griffin Shea, CNN Bukasa, Uganda (CNN) — On a tropical island more than 600 miles from the sea, a mystical waterfall springs out of a rock and cascades down a cliff, eventually flowing into Lake Victoria and then the Nile. It’s a natural and, for many Ugandans, a spiritual wonder. But the people who

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — Beneath a diaphanous white veil, four family members sit together on tan leather chairs, the woman in the center holding a baby in her arms. They gaze pointedly at the viewer, their concealed-yet-visible state a potent metaphor. Now in their 60s, they are the children born from a Japanese

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Sandra*, a 43-year-old media lawyer based in Los Angeles, had been toying with the idea of breast augmentation since her 20s, but was always put off by the pain of the procedure, the long recovery time and the idea of having “this kind of foreign sac in your body.”

By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN (CNN) — Jason Salesberry had never set foot on Italian soil before moving there in October 2017. Today, he owns a house in a hilltop town and is planning the harvest from his two-acre grove of olive trees. In the nine years since his family arrived in Naples sight unseen, their

By Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Paris (CNN) — My official business in Paris this week was to attend the haute couture shows, but throughout my time in the French capital I kept bumping into art. This is unsurprising in a city where you can’t walk more than a few yards before being drawn into a

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our latest roundup of travel news, we bring you bathing tips from an onsen expert, a bear encounter in a Tibet hotel room, plus a new ranking of the world’s most liveable cities. Bathing and swim spots Japan’s famed hot springs, or onsen, are one of the country’s

By Billy Stockwell, CNN (CNN) — Greg Morley has spent decades sailing around the world on LGBTQ+ cruises with his husband, visiting far-flung destinations across the Americas, Asia and Europe – all from the safety of a ship where, he says, “everyone belongs.” So, when the 59-year-old Philadelphian, who now lives in Paris, embarked on

By Chris Liakos, Stephanie Halasz and Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — A passenger on a Ryanair flight was sucked halfway out of the plane after the window he was sitting next to became dislodged in midair. The budget airline flight to Memmingen in Germany was forced to return to Thessaloniki in Greece, from where it

By Bianca Betancourt, CNN How many times can one celebrate the sartorial prowess of Zendaya? If this week’s global press tour for the upcoming Christopher Nolan epic “The Odyssey” proves anything, it’s that the actor and all-around fashion muse is fully committed to the cause of glamour. The 29-year-old is the physical manifestation of the

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN London (CNN) — Under police escort in the early hours of Friday, the Bayeux Tapestry arrived back in Britain after an absence of almost 1,000 years. The journey that the world-famous 11th-century artwork took to arrive at the British Museum in London, where it will be on display between September and

By Jen Rose Smith (CNN) — A river of cars greeted Marti Pawlikowski, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she arrived at Zion National Park on a Road Scholar tour this spring. “It took us 45 minutes to get through,” she said, adding that the delays didn’t stop once she entered the Utah park. “Waiting in line

By T.M. Brown, CNN (CNN) — In the 102nd minute of his team’s epic World Cup match against soccer powerhouse Argentina, with viewers around the globe hanging on every moment, the Cape Verde fullback Sidny Lopes Cabral unloaded a shot that curled all the way into the back of the Argentine net and sprinted into

By Antonia Mortensen and Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — An Italian fishing village on Lake Como has introduced a fine for anyone found wandering its streets bare-chested or in swimwear. Anyone flouting the village’s new dress code will now face a penalty of up to 200 euros ($228) under the latest measure aimed at limiting

By Poonam Binayak, CNN Lucknow, India (CNN) — A plate of buffalo galawati kebabs arrives at the table at Tunday Kababi, a famous restaurant in Phool Wali Gali, a narrow lane in Lucknow’s old quarter. Diners tear off pieces of paratha, a flat bread, and scoop up the tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat. Nearby, cooks continuously shape

Jing Zhang, CNN (CNN) — Zirui Yang has been obsessed with shopping since junior high. “Clothes, shoes and accessories — and they always had to be branded,” said the 22-year-old student. “It started with Nike and Adidas, then moved on to Gucci and Balenciaga.” But since starting college in 2022, his retail therapy has been

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN Istanbul (CNN) — Some nations and empires declare their magnificence with monumental public displays: mighty castles and fortresses which ring across the skyline in loud exclamations of stone or brick. Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace, seat of the Ottoman Empire for almost four centuries, is a little different. Despite the opulence of the

By Jessica Salter (CNN) — The design writer and collector Dung Ngo owns more than 10,000 pieces of cutlery. It started 25 years ago, when Ngo turned 30 and decided that “the cutlery I bought after college from Target, no longer fit who I was.” He found a 40-piece set he loved in a vintage

By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN (CNN) — The world seems to be changing at lightning speed, so it’s perhaps good to know that some things remain the same — at least when it comes to the most livable city. Copenhagen has taken the No. 1 spot on the annual list from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

CNN By Camille Knight, CNN Paris (CNN) — If you’re visiting Paris this summer, you may want to add swimming in the Seine to your itinerary. And after the heat this city has seen in the past few weeks, you may absolutely need to. Paris just experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures topping

By Camille Knight, CNN Paris (CNN) — If you’re visiting Paris this summer, you may want to add swimming in the Seine to your itinerary. And after the heat this city has seen in the past few weeks, you may absolutely need to. Paris just experienced its hottest day on record, with temperatures topping 104

CNN By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — Happy Independence Day to our readers in the USA! We’re celebrating at CNN Travel with the launch of our list of America’s 10 Best Towns to Visit for 2026. While this weekend is hotter than many of us might like (stay safe if your region’s being hit hard

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — Happy Independence Day to our readers in the USA! We’re celebrating at CNN Travel with the launch of our list of America’s 10 Best Towns to Visit for 2026. While this weekend is hotter than many of us might like (stay safe if your region’s being hit hard by

By Joe Yogerst (CNN) — Nature is a master at transforming water, woods, stone and even ice into awe-inspiring landscapes. Yet manmade creations also count among America’s most stunning spaces. And when the two converge — those rare places where human civilization actually complements what nature created — it’s absolute magic. While beauty is often

By Rachel Tashjian, CNN (CNN) — As Wimbledon began this week, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka made an entrance in the high style that has become her signature: an elaborate robe by Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi, made from vintage kimonos and bridal gowns, over a white Nike tennis dress. The designer said the one-two look

By Sam Peters, CNN London (CNN) — When the British royal family ramps up the pomp and pageantry to mark moments of national importance, Buckingham Palace often provides the perfect backdrop. But it has also been the official London residence of the sovereign since 1837. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live in Buckingham

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — Paying passengers have been welcomed aboard the United Arab Emirates’ first national rail service as the initial phase of a long-awaited express train network that will eventually connect 11 cities across the region opened to the public. The first service to run in the Middle Eastern country left Fujairah

By T.M. Brown, CNN (CNN) — Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is used to attention. He’s six foot five inches with shoulder-length blonde hair that loudly gestures towards his Viking pedigree. He is also among the best soccer players in the world and has led his country’s men’s team to its first FIFA World Cup appearance

By Leah Dolan, CNN Paris (CNN) — During a suffocating heatwave that took hold of countries across Europe last week, temperatures in Paris hit dangerously high levels — closing landmarks, breaking trains and driving up a heat-related death toll. Still, a surprising number of attendees at the city’s bi-annual Men’s Fashion Week proved their commitment

By Leah Asmelash, CNN (CNN) — Soccer jerseys! Who doesn’t have one? Olivia Rodrigo partnered with Spotify for a now sold-out throwback FC Barcelona jersey stamped with her bubbly monogram over the red and blue vertical stripes. The Gap has two limited-edition summer collections featuring jerseys inspired by “football culture,” while Nike has two collections

By Joe Yogerst, CNN (CNN) — It may seem like an awful long time since the Founding Fathers took steps toward creating the United States by signing their names to the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. And 250 years of nationhood is definitely something to celebrate. Yet the history of the land —

By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — This week in travel news: tourists are coping with extreme heat, one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations is tripling its tourist tax, and a gold bar is up for grabs in Finland. Japan has broken its tourism record every year since the pandemic. As more and more

By Leah Dolan, CNN Paris (CNN) — Fashion designer Willy Chavaria ranks well against all the typical measures of success within the fashion industry: he has a dedicated celebrity client roster, hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers, partnerships with global stockists and he’s launched collaborations with mainstream brands like Adidas, Zara and just teased another

By Rachel Tashjian, CNN Recently, it seems one thing — or pair of things, with ten digits — has occupied the minds of fashion designers more than anything else: our feet. This week, at the men’s Summer 2027 Saint Laurent show in Paris, creative director Anthony Vaccarello showed a collection of quiet perversity disrupted by

By Joe Yogerst, CNN (CNN) — Fireworks, hotdogs and summer blockbuster movies are Independence Day staples. But this year brings a flurry of unique and alternative events where Americans can come together, put aside our differences, and celebrate 250 years of nationhood. From coast to coast, the long July 4th weekend will still offer spectacular

By Julia Buckley, CNN (CNN) — For the past 30 years, Ade Andrews has learned the secret of time travel: stepping into Sherwood Forest and finding himself in the Middle Ages. The mythical home of Robin Hood hit the headlines last week with the death of the Major Oak — a 1,000-year-old tree in the

By Chelsey Sanchez It’s never easy for pop stars to introduce their next era. If they cling too closely to what has been done in the past, critics may grumble over a lack of innovation. If they veer too far from what fans know and expect, they risk losing the base that gave them a

By Scarlett Conlon, CNN Milan, Italy (CNN) — At the recent Milan Men’s Fashion Week, dainty little details were everywhere — reminding us that styling is how you really have fun with fashion. The riot of small-scale design flourishes seen across the Spring-Summer 2027 shows — from pins and corsages to feather boas and arm

CNN By CNN Travel staff (CNN) — Scorching hot temperatures have been breaking records and wreaking havoc across some of the world’s most popular tourism destinations. Is it time to rethink travel plans? Are refunds available? Are there ways to cope? Here are some answers to many of the key questions travelers may be asking

By CNN Travel staff (CNN) — Scorching hot temperatures have been breaking records and wreaking havoc across some of the world’s most popular tourism destinations. Is it time to rethink travel plans? Are refunds available? Are there ways to cope? Here are some answers to many of the key questions travelers may be asking when

By Gyeongmin Kim, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — Seoul’s Hongdae neighborhood is famous for its forest of cafés. On any given day, the aroma of roasted coffee beans fills the air, with many of the shopfronts fronted by tall-as-trees banners bearing the image of a glamorous-looking person. Take three steps, and you’ll see a

By Vivian Song, CNN (CNN) — France is currently experiencing a mini cheese revolution. And it’s been causing a small ruckus in the refrigerated cheese aisles of major grocery stores. The cheese in question, cancoillotte, is hardly new. In fact, it’s believed that the soft, gooey cheese that comes packaged in pots, can be traced

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our roundup of travel news and features this week, the real-life filming locations for “The Godfather” and “The White Lotus,” audacious underground mega tunnels in Europe, plus a big overhaul on the way for US air traffic control. An offer they couldn’t refuse When the cast and crew

By Jake McGowan, CNN Toulouse, France (CNN) — For nearly a century, commercial airlines have chased one of aviation’s ultimate goals: connecting Sydney to the opposite side of the planet in a single, uninterrupted flight. Now, Qantas is on the verge of making that a reality as it moves its highly anticipated Project Sunrise into

By Francesca Street, CNN Côte d’Azur, France (CNN) — Kat Jamieson slid open the doors to her poolside hotel room in Saint-Tropez and was greeted with an unexpected sight: cameras and a film crew surrounding actor Laura Dern, who was holding court in front of the rippling blue water. “She was wearing this fabulous Missoni

By Sheena McKenzie, CNN (CNN) — In the British social calendar, no event quite matches the prestige, pageantry and formal dress protocols of Royal Ascot. Members of the monarchy wave from carriages, aristocrats don faintly cartoonish top hats and extravagant millinery threatens to obscure the view at every turn. There’s also horse racing. Across five

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN Istanbul (CNN) — Not all ice-creams are created equal. American-style is rich in cream and light in texture. Italian gelato is churned slower and served warmer. Indian kulfi is thick and never whipped. And in Turkey, Maraş dondurma is stretchy like taffy and almost melt-proof. Its resilience is thanks to an

By Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN (CNN) — Michelle Obama has long demonstrated a knack for conveying messages through her clothing, and her outfit on Tuesday poignantly exemplified her mastery of this skill. For an appearance on stage at the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, the former first lady wore a pencil skirt adorned with

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN London (CNN) — The results of the world’s largest wine awards have been announced, and there are plenty of surprises among the countries and regions that have triumphed. “There’s never been a better time to be a wine drinker,” said Pierre Mansour, a judge and regional chair of the Decanter World

By Oscar Holland, CNN Whether found in a respected museum or a billionaire’s mansion, it is likely that any given Khmer sculpture in the West was, at some point, ripped from an ancient temple complex and trafficked out of Cambodia. There is also a reasonable chance it passed through the hands of a British man

By Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN What’s the first thing that comes to mind when your health-conscious partner leaves town for a business trip? For me, it means cancelling dinner plans and “foraging” in the kitchen for a few key ingredients: American cheese, thick slices of Spam and a handful of frozen dumplings — all destined

By Jeanne Bonner, CNN (CNN) — The winners of the James Beard Awards — often called “the Oscars of the food world” — were announced Monday, with the award for Best New Restaurant going to Lei, a winebar in New York’s Chinatown. Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco was named Outstanding Chef at the

By Bianca Betancourt, CNN. Photographs by David Dee Delgado for CNN. (CNN) — For a mile-long stretch of Bushwick, Brooklyn, a sea of red, white and blue floods the streets. One corner boasts a DIY speaker setup blasting old-school reggaeton courtesy of Tego Calderón and Plan B, another plays throwback salsa from Héctor Lavoe and

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our roundup of travel news this week: the world’s “best city for food,” why an Italian beach has banned umbrellas, plus a rise in airline passengers disregarding crew instructions. Don’t grab bags, don’t stop to film People, we really shouldn’t have to be told this again. A new

By Stephy Chung, CNN (CNN) — Susan Mah knew exactly what she wanted for her version of a “little black dress.” It was the late 1940s in California, and after years of commissioning some of the finest tailors back home in Shanghai and Hong Kong, she had learned a thing or two about making clothes

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — A painting by the Belgian artist René Magritte has been damaged by a 5-year-old boy wielding a pine cone. Conservators at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem are currently restoring the “Castle of the Pyrenees” after the child caused what the museum described as “minor damage” to it in a

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s extravagant $400-million White House ballroom and proposed triumphal arch were always going to attract the most attention. That is somewhat the point. But this week in Tennessee, more than 500 miles away from Washington, DC, officials quietly unveiled a far more revealing illustration of the US

By Pavlo Fedykovych, CNN (CNN) — On the outskirts of Vịnh Mốc, bamboo trees sway in the wind above a line of streetfood shacks. Red plastic chairs on the sidewalk serve as the dining hall, while patrons prepare grilled rice and noodle dishes. It’s a typical Vietnamese sight — as are the Coca-Cola fridges for

By Oscar Holland, CNN and Nick Glass (CNN) — British painter David Hockney, whose vibrant portraits and sun-drenched depictions of the everyday made him one of contemporary art’s most beloved figures, has died at 88. The artist died “peacefully at home” on Thursday, one month short of his 89th birthday, according to a statement provided

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Rome (CNN) — Authorities managing one of Sardinia’s most popular beaches have banned umbrellas for people between the ages of 10 and 65, citing safety concerns in the event of an emergency. Sun protection and skin cancer prevention is a priority in most places in the world, yet for those

By Terry Ward, CNN (CNN) — Within six months of arriving in New Zealand on a working holiday visa 10 years ago, Erin Klatt knew she wanted to make the country her home for good. Klatt was looking for “somewhere different to be” for a variety of personal and political reasons when she left the

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — Ryanair, Europe’s biggest airline, is under investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog over charges it imposes on families with young children to sit together. Paying for a specific seat is optional on Ryanair flights, according to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), unless travelling with a child aged between

By Amarachi Orie, CNN (CNN) — If you’re eager to escape to an idyllic landscape that produces its own exclusive wine and is surrounded by tranquil waters — and you’ve got $28 million lying around — look no further than the Venice lagoon. Toward the north end of the UNESCO World Heritage site lies a