Life

By Jack Guy and Amarachi Orie, CNN (CNN) — The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona will finally be finished in 2026, more than 140 years after construction started, officials have confirmed. The construction of the last of six towers will mark the completion of the structure of the basilica, the organization responsible for managing the site

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Writer and illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff, who continued his father’s legacy by producing dozens of original books for his “Babar the Elephant” series, has died aged 98. De Brunhoff died at his home in Key West, Florida on Friday following a recent stroke, his wife, the critic and author Phyllis Rose,

By Xiaofei Xu, CNN Paris (CNN) — The army of waiters who are the lifeblood of the French capital’s many cafés often get a bad rap, accused of everything from being unable to crack a smile to being downright rude and impatient to their customers. But the “garçons de café” of Paris are undoubtedly professionals.

By David Williams and Ashley R. Williams, CNN (CNN) — Heath Barnes opened his book on the upper decks of the Bahamas-bound Carnival Freedom cruise ship in between bouts of rain. But his relaxation Saturday afternoon was suddenly stolen with “the loudest thunder and lightning I have ever heard,” he told CNN. Barnes, of Woodsboro,

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN (CNN) — Martin Greenfield, a tailor who dressed six US presidents, countless A-list actors and professional athletes, died on March 20 at the age of 95, according to his sons Jay, Tod and David Greenfield. Dubbed by GQ and other media outlets as “America’s greatest living tailor,” Greenfield founded the longstanding

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our travel round-up this week: love stories of missed flights and strong connections, the Greek island where the end of the world began, and dramatic new plans for the world’s biggest plane. Love is in the air Canadian Bianca Gignac was amazed to find herself skinny-dipping in Cinque

By Colleen Kelsey, CNN (CNN) — Writing in 1863, the French poet and critic Charles Baudelaire turned his eye to a striking faction of Parisian and English high society, one militantly fanatical for appearances — so much that some were said to polish their boots with Champagne. “Dandyism is a mysterious institution,” he said of

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — If she can avoid it, Saphia never travels by airplane. Saphia researches the climate crisis for a living – so that’s partly why, although not entirely. She also just hates flying, period. “My job sort of demands I have an ethical stance on flying,” Saphia tells CNN Travel. “But

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN (CNN) — Diamonds are forever – especially for Emily Ratajkowski, who has chosen to turn her engagement ring into something entirely new following her split from her film producer husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard. With the help of Alison Chemla, creative director of jewelry brand Alison Lou, Ratajkowski worked to remake her old

By Nectar Gan, CNN (CNN) — A Netflix adaptation of wildly popular Chinese sci-fi novel “The Three-Body Problem” has split opinions in China and sparked online nationalist anger over scenes depicting a violent and tumultuous period in the country’s modern history. Reactions have been mixed on Chinese social media since the Thursday premiere of the

CNN By Maggie Hiufu Wong and Hazel Pfeifer, CNN (CNN) — A short walk from Sensoji, the oldest temple in Tokyo, sits another aging classic – Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku. Founded in 1954, it’s believed to be the city’s oldest onigiri (Japanese rice ball) restaurant. “The reason why my family started this business is simple,” says

By Maggie Hiufu Wong and Hazel Pfeifer, CNN (CNN) — A short walk from Sensoji, the oldest temple in Tokyo, sits another aging classic – Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku. Founded in 1954, it’s believed to be the city’s oldest onigiri (Japanese rice ball) restaurant. “The reason why my family started this business is simple,” says Yosuke

By Emily Blumenthal, CNN (CNN) — A treasure hunter struggling with faulty equipment has unearthed a gold nugget believed to be the largest ever found in England. Richard Brock discovered the gold nugget, weighing 64.8 grams (2.3 ounces), in the country’s Shropshire Hills near the border with Wales, auction house Mullock Jones said Thursday. The

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — On Tuesday, a starry guestlist poured into the regal halls of London’s National Portrait Gallery for the museum’s first fundraising Gala since its hefty three-year remodel completed in 2023. Against the backdrop of 1700s portraiture, former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, artist Tracey Emin and Dame Kristen Scott Thomas

By Tom Page and Sean Coppack, CNN (CNN) — Thanda Island, a speck of sand off the Tanzanian coast, has room for only a handful of guests, but space enough for many thousands of inhabitants. A luxury estate which must be rented in its entirety, where prices start at $33,000 per night, you’ll have to

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — A model of the “Pillar of Shame,” a memorial to victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre that was controversially removed from a Hong Kong university in 2021, has gone on display in front of the European Parliament in Brussels. Depicting a heap of contorted bodies and screaming faces, the

Poonam Binayak, CNN (CNN) — When planning a trip to India, the “Golden Triangle,” comprising Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, often comes to mind as a must-see region. And these historic destinations do indeed provide a classic introduction to the country. However, India boasts an array of natural wonders that provide ample opportunities for the more

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — Within an original poem, spelled out in neon lettering, the Indigenous artist Demian DinéYazhi´ hid a message in their installation at the Whitney Biennial in New York. Unknown to the show’s curators, flickering letters across the artwork’s three stanzas reveal the words: “Free Palestine.” Titled “we must stop imagining

By Suyin Haynes, CNN (CNN) — Growing up in the UK, photographer Jamie McGregor Smith was familiar with traditional churches and their historic architecture. But in 2018, when McGregor Smith and his family moved to Vienna, Austria, he noticed cathedrals and churches across Europe built in a 20th century brutalist style. Intrigued, McGregor Smith planned

CNN staff (CNN) — Nearly a dozen recent incidents involving United Airlines planes. A fiery runway collision in Tokyo. And the alarming mid-air blow out of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9. It’s been an inauspicious start for aviation in 2024. Are you worried? We’d like to hear from you.

By Scottie Andrew, CNN (CNN) — A pair of ruby slippers, famously donned by Judy Garland (in character as Dorothy Gale) in “The Wizard of Oz,” has been returned to its owner years after the shoes were stolen from a museum dedicated to the actress. FBI agents on Monday reunited collector Michael Shaw with the

Photos and interviews by Moeri Karasawa, Himari Semans and Getty Images; Text by Oscar Holland, CNN Tokyo, Japan (CNN) — Tokyo Fashion Week concluded perhaps its most successful edition since the Covid-19 pandemic, with more international guests and buyers returning to Japan’s capital for the Fall-Winter 2024 edition. The event’s 35 physical shows featured Finnish

By Zoe Whitfield, CNN (CNN) — “My God, it’s dull,” said interior designer Steven Thomas of the British retail landscape in 2024. As the creative force behind the look of the wildly popular 1970s London fashion store Big Biba, Thomas knows a thing or two about engineering excitement. Big Biba — a daring, 20,000 square

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Shigeichi Negishi, the entrepreneur who invented the world’s first karaoke machine, has died aged 100. Negishi, whose 1967 “Sparko Box” prototype is among several devices credited with ushering in Japan’s karaoke craze, died from natural causes in January. His death, which was made public last week, was confirmed to

By Rebecca Cairns, CNN (CNN) — When Mohamad Orfali was a child, his favorite meal was breakfast. At his family home in Aleppo, Syria, his grandfather would prepare “Treet Bel Laban” — an omelet with meatballs, served on top of garlic yogurt, and eaten with warm bread. “I have so many memories of food,” says

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN (CNN) — The FBI has returned a trove of looted Japanese art to its country of origin after a family found a stash of artifacts in their late father’s Massachusetts attic. The family of a deceased World War II veteran contacted the FBI after discovering the items, which they determined to

By Terry Ward, CNN (CNN) — For all the stories of American families who’ve bid adieu to the United States to give their kids a different upbringing in France, decamped to Italy for a better lifestyle or made the move to Portugal to afford health care and retire on the cheap, there are plenty of

By Christian House, CNN (CNN) — As accidental adverts for art shows go, a giant pooch made of flowers is a crowd pleaser. Outside the Guggenheim Bilbao in northern Spain, Jeff Koons’ much-loved flower 1992 sculpture “Puppy,” shows how Pop art — that high kick of counter-intuitive artistic expression so often equated with the 1960s

By Matt Villano, CNN (CNN) — Visitors love Las Vegas for the glitz, glam and garishness of the resorts that line the 4.2-mile Las Vegas Strip, but the most exciting neighborhood in the city right now is all about art. This area, fittingly called the Arts District, has become a haven for local creatives. It’s

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN (CNN) — Look at almost any modern high-horsepower supercar and you will see the work of auto designer Marcello Gandini. Sharp lines, a low stance, doors that swing up; all were influenced by Gandini’s seminal work, the Lamborghini Countach. The Countach and its predecessor, the Lamborghini Miura, are widely regarded as

Essay by Yemisi Aribisala, CNN (CNN) — Femi Oyebade, a Nigerian diasporan for more than 30 years and a Guinness beer connoisseur, assures me that there is a stark difference between Irish Guinness and Nigerian Guinness. Chalk and cheese won’t suffice in defining the distance between the two. Nigerian Guinness has weight in your mouth

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — Long lines. Feeling bleary-eyed and exhausted after an overnight flight. Scrambling to get your documents ready. For most international travelers arriving in the US, going through immigration and customs is another step in the travel process – and it can take a little while. But international travelers arriving from

By Lilit Marcus, CNN (CNN) — Tourists to the Galapagos Islands will be asked to pay twice as much in entry fees from this year amid concerns that a rise in visitor numbers is putting pressure on the ecologically sensitive destination. Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism has announced the new fees, which will take effect on