TRAVEL gallery
Travel News You Can Use
By Cynthia David
Transform a thrilling day trip to Niagara Falls into an exciting long weekend in the Niagara region using a clever (and free!) online trip planner designed by Canadian travel-tech company trippl, which has an office in Niagara Falls. With a few clicks, you can create a personalized itinerary of places to stay, eat, drink and explore all 12 Niagara municipalities. Find the best fish and chips in Port Colborne, stop for coffee and gelato in Fonthill, gaze at giant ships traversing the Welland Canal in Thorold, book accommodations, from luxury inns to campsites, and visit renowned wineries. The website even maps out your route and calculates travel time between stops. Try it out. destinationniagarafalls.ca
The 1608 Bar in Québec City’s Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is not only one of Canada’s 100 Best Bars for 2026 (it scored No. 41), but it won the first annual People’s Choice Award for Best Bars. The chic, intimate circular space, formerly a drawing room, takes its name from the year explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City. With its lighting, brass bar, marble counter and views of the St. Lawrence river, 1608 is the perfect spot to sip La Rose et le Renard, a refreshing, fruity sparkling cocktail inspired by The Little Prince, or an Apple Pie, a whisky-sherry Julep created as an ode to author Jack Kerouac. Chateau-Frontenac.com
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham-born balti, a style of curry that emerged in the 1970s from the city’s Pakistani and Kashmiri restaurant community developed for Birmingham diners as a fast-cooked, fresh style of curry. The fragrant curry is cooked quickly over high heat in a thin-pressed carbon-steel balti bowl, and scooped up with naan bread. Across the West Midlands, landmark restaurants such as Shababs, Akash Balti and Akbar’s are marking the anniversary with festivities honouring the dish. By the ’90s, Birmingham’s “Balti Triangle” was home to more than 30 balti houses. VisitBritain.org
Guided vacations are attracting younger travellers. According to a custom study commissioned by the Globus Family of brands and conducted by MMGY Travel Intelligence, busy Gen Xers and younger boomers in their 60s aren’t interested in large groups and rigid schedules, yet they don’t have the time or energy to plan a DIY trip. Globus caters to this group with Choice Excursions and more than 60 Small Group Discovery tours, including a 13-day Small Group Discovery tour from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Small groups and flexible pacing give guests, “the freedom to discover epic destinations deeply,” the company says. Globusjourneys.com
Culinary stars are shining brightly in Montréal. Québec’s second MICHELIN restaurant guide has elevated two more city restaurants to one-star status, for a total of five stars. Industrial-chic Hoogan et Beaufort is sought-after for its wood-fired cooking, while Sushi Nishinokaze, with just eight seats, serves its omakase tasting menu in ancient and modern ceramics. They join three Montréal favourites that retain their one-star rating: Simon Mathys’ gem Mastard, tiny Sabayon in Pointe-Saint-Charles and chef Jerome Ferrer’s Europea. All emphasize Québec ingredients and seasonal produce in their menus. As well, seven Montréal restaurants have earned a Bib Gourmand, while 49 establishments appear in the “Selected” category for promoting the richness and diversity of the city’s food scene. mtl.org
Ocho Rios, on Jamaica’s North coast, is renowned for its waterfalls, rainforest adventures and luxury resorts. It’s also home to a thriving chocolate shop in a plaza founded by two accomplished pastry chefs. Since 2017 Wouter Tjeertes and his Jamaican-born wife Rennae Johnson have partnered with local farmers and artists to create their own farm-to-bar single origin chocolate. The result is handmade, undeniably delicious bars wrapped in art created by Jamaican artists. Best-sellers include Jamaica 75% Dark Chocolate, beloved by purists, and 45% Pistachio Coconut. Book a 1.5-hour chocolate-making workshop and taste fine Jamaican chocolate for yourself. Purechocolatecompany.com
Privacy, comfort and elegance are the hallmarks of Tenuta di Murlo, a sprawling country estate in Umbria, a stone’s throw from Perugia and Assisi. Relax in one of nine beautifully-restored villas with breathtaking views. Or choose one of three deluxe rooms near the Caldaro restaurant, ideal for a couple’s weekend getaway. The estate itself is a hive of activity. Learn to harvest honey with the resident beekeeper or accompany a truffle-hunting dog into the woods. Hike all day along the estate’s trails, ride horseback or play a round of golf at the course next door. In autumn, take part in the grape harvest and join the evening’s vineyard feast. A new demonstration kitchen hosts masterclasses in regional specialties. Murlo.com
Travel expert Cynthia David provides updates on the tourism industry in this curated collection that appears in every issue.
