• Smithsonian
    Institution
  • Travel
    With Us
  • Smithsonian
    Store
  • Smithsonian
    Channel
  • goSmithsonian
    Visitors Guide
  • Air & Space
    magazine

Smithsonian.com

  • Subscribe
  • History & Archaeology
  • Science
  • Ideas & Innovations
  • Arts & Culture
  • Travel & Food
  • At the Smithsonian
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Games
  • Shop
  • Food
  • U.S. & Canada
  • Europe
  • Central & South America
  • Asia Pacific
  • Africa & the Middle East
  • Best of Lists
  • Evotourism
  • Photos
  • Travel with Smithsonian

Editors' Picks

Take a Tour of Victor Hugo's Paris

As a film version of his Les Misérables hits theaters, consider traveling in the French writer’s footsteps

Sherlock Holmes' London

As the detective stalks movie theaters, our reporter tracks down the favorite haunts of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous sleuth

Truffle Trouble in Europe: The Invader Without Flavor

If it looks like a black truffle, and if it cost you $1,500 a pound like a black truffle---it may actually be a worthless Chinese truffle

What Makes the Trout in Ecuador Look Like Salmon?

Aiming to catch a few trout for dinner, the author decides to try his luck at one of the region's many "sport fishing" sites
February 12, 2013 | By Alastair Bland

Jane Austen’s English Countryside

Follow in the footsteps of Mr. Darcy and the Bennet sisters and take in the manors and gardens of rural England
January 25, 2013 | By Nina Fedrizzi

Searching for the Russian Loch Ness Monster in a Frozen Siberian Lake

In a record-breaking dive, the head of the Russian Geographical Society sunk to the bottom of Lake Labynkyr in Siberia, one of the coldest lakes in the world
February 04, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Parisian Women Legally Allowed to Wear Pants for the First Time in 200 Years

On January 31, France's minister of women's rights made if officially impossible to arrest a woman for wearing pants in Paris
February 05, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Faces From Afar: Two Canadian Travelers Bring Love, Goodwill and Water Filters to the Needy

Give a man a glass of water, and you may quench his thirst. But teach him to build a water filter, as Rod and Ingrid McCarroll are doing, and he'll have clean water for life
February 01, 2013 | By Alastair Bland

The House Where Darwin Lived

Home to the naturalist for 40 years, the estate near London was always evolving
February 2013 | By Rebecca Stott

Spain: Of Sun, Siestas — and Salmon?

About a dozen Spanish streams support native runs of Atlantic salmon, but anglers are deeply divided about how to fish for them
June 21, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

The Louvre Museum Is Having a Baby!

This December the French town of Lens will be welcoming a new branch museum of the Louvre
July 05, 2012 | By Susan Spano

They Celebrate American Thanksgiving in the Netherlands

From 1609 to 1620, many of the Pilgrims who came to America lived in the Netherlands
November 21, 2012 | By Colin Schultz

On the Cheese Trail in the Pyrenees

Make a fuss in the road and stomp your feet, and someone will appear. Spit out some gibberish about “fromage a vendre,” and that should do it. You'll get your cheese
June 07, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

Tasting France’s Finest Wines

Sauternes is a cute little village near Bordeaux that would likely have been just another manure-splattered cow town if dumb luck, microclimatology and royal wineries had not showered the region in fortunes
May 24, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

Resistance to Nazis in a Land Riddled with Caves

We wondered if the cave's tenants cooked inside or out, if they peered down at the valley and if they wrapped all glassware and metal in cloth to prevent reflective giveaways to the Nazis below
May 22, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

A Medieval Castle in the Making

The construction of a medieval fortress in France is answering important questions about 13th-century building techniques
May 21, 2012 | By Susan Spano

There’s No Place Like Naples for Pizza

Forget Chicago deep-dish, Roman pizza bianca and Domino's. For the best, most authentic pizza, go to Napoli
May 18, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Truffle Trouble in Europe: The Invader Without Flavor

If it looks like a black truffle, and if it cost you $1,500 a pound like a black truffle---it may actually be a worthless Chinese truffle
May 15, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

Off the Road in the South of France

Ernest Hemingway popularized the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Paris, but he missed out every day he wasn't walking through the forested hills of Périgord
May 11, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

An American Library in Paris

Founded after World War I, the City of Light's English-language library has long been a haven for expats, including Hemingway
March 25, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Plus Ça Change in France

The nation says au revoir to the franc and to "mademoiselle" and bonjour to a proposed new theme park—Napoleonland
April 19, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Springtime Comes to the Flood-Damaged Cinque Terre

The future is looking brighter for the cliffside Italian villages ravaged by last fall's rains
April 11, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Good Friday Festivities on Procida

The Mysteries of the Dead Christ procession begins at Terra Murata on the island of Procida
April 06, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Sicilian Easter Sweets

On the Italian island, marzipan figures—pears, plums, Paschal lambs—are a favorite holiday treat
April 05, 2012 | By Susan Spano

San Cassiano Canal

Who Was Casanova?

The personal memoir of history's most famous lover reveals a misunderstood intellectual who befriended the likes of Ben Franklin
April 2012 | By Tony Perrottet

Is Paris Really for Lovers?

Give Paris its due, but the place has at least its share of unromantic features
February 10, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Italy: Where the Olive Oil is the Most Flavorful

An organic farming network gave my niece the opportunity. Then she gave me the nectar of the gods
January 06, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Goofing Around in England’s Lake District

Now out on DVD, The Trip, with comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, takes the road movie into the storied English countryside
January 04, 2012 | By Susan Spano

Advertisement

Most Popular

  • Viewed
  • Emailed
  • Commented
  1. For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of WWII
  2. The 20 Best Small Towns in America
  3. Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer
  4. When Did Humans Come to the Americas?
  5. Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic
  1. For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of WWII
  2. Jack Andraka, the Teen Prodigy of Pancreatic Cancer
  3. What Became of the Taíno?
  4. Who's Laughing Now?
  5. Creole Gumbo Recipe From Mrs. Elie
  1. Most of What You Think You Know About Grammar is Wrong
  2. Abandoned Ship: the Mary Celeste
  3. Should the Constitution Be Scrapped?
  4. The Evolution of Charles Darwin
  5. To Be...Or Not: The Greatest Shakespeare Forgery

View All Most Popular »

Travel Photos


Travel with Smithsonian




Follow Us

Smithsonian Magazine
@SmithsonianMag
Follow Smithsonian Magazine on Twitter

Sign up for regular email updates from Smithsonian.com, including daily newsletters and special offers.






First Name
Last Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State   Zip
Email


Marketplace

Reader Services

Shop Our Smithsonian Publications

Shop Our Smithsonian Publications

Window Shopping - Great deals direct from select advertisers!

Window Shopping

Gifts, Gadgets and Great Finds!

View full archiveRecent Issues


  • Feb 2013


  • Jan 2013


  • Dec 2012

Newsletter

Sign up for regular email updates from Smithsonian magazine, including free newsletters, special offers and current news updates.

Subscribe Now

About Us

Smithsonian.com expands on Smithsonian magazine's in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, the arts, travel, world culture and technology. Join us regularly as we take a dynamic and interactive approach to exploring modern and historic perspectives on the arts, sciences, nature, world culture and travel, including videos, blogs and a reader forum.

Explore our Brands

  • goSmithsonian.com
  • Smithsonian Air & Space Museum
  • Smithsonian Student Travel
  • Smithsonian Catalogue
  • Smithsonian Journeys
  • Smithsonian Channel
  • About Smithsonian
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • RSS
  • Topics
  • Member Services
  • Copyright
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Ad Choices

Smithsonian Institution