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If you figure out a way to politely turn down baijiu, China's favorite hard liquor, please let us know.

Booze Cruise: The Best Local Liquors to Try While Traveling

Fermentation has been replicated independently in nearly every region of earth, and many of the drinks various cultures brew are well worth a journey

Louis Basque Corner is one of the rare restaurants in Nevada that serves Basque cuisine

Your Guide to Basquing in the Old West

What are the best restaurants for authentic Basque cuisine?

Casanova's spirit is everywhere in the Czech capital city of Prague.

Europe

When Casanova Met Mozart

The world’s most notorious lover lived in Prague at the same time as the composer, but the mystery remains: did they collaborate on a famous opera?

The flowers at Chelsea Market

It’s Always Springtime at the Flower Market

Exploring New York City’s mid-town bloom bazaar, a unusual burst of color and perfume amid the helter-skelter of the city

The author and his bike stand about 850 feet above San Francisco on Conzelman Road. Repeated 10 times, this little hill amounts to a world classic of climbing.

The World’s Best Uphill Bike Rides

Long, steady climbs on a bicycle are the holy grail of athletic conquests. We hill climbers measure the worth of a landscape by its rise over run

Cloud, sea and sun create a morning sky as spectacular as it is serene as Matt Rutherford enters another day on his solo voyage around the Americas.

Will Matt Rutherford be First to Circumnavigate the Americas Solo?

“Basically, I either fail and everyone thinks I’m crazy, or I succeed and I’m a hero,” says the sailor, who is on the homestretch of a one-year journey

An ocotillo flower

Wildflower Hunting in the California Desert

March is the traditional time to view the fab flora in Joshua Tree National Park

Few landscapes have inspired the author quite like the Picos de Europa of northern Spain.

Why Do You Travel?

What is it we look for over mountains and across oceans? Answer our survey and we’ll publish responses in the May issue of Smithsonian

17,000 feet

More Great Walks of the World

Which hikes are the best in the world, and which ones did we miss?

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Which Vacation Spot Changed Your Life?

Tell us what you think about traveling the world and your answer may appear in a future issue of the magazine

Meadows, lakes, snow and granite are the enduring elements of California's John Muir Trail, which leads through 211 miles of some of the world's most beautiful alpine wilderness.

Great Walks of the World

The fact that people opt to walk today tells us there is something virtuous and irresistible in the plodding of one foot forward after the other

This scene from Lake Wanaka captures much that is great about New Zealand, like the Southern Alps and the country's many gleaming lakes.

New Zealand: What’s Hot and What’s Not

From Stewart Island in the south to the Surville Cliffs in the north, New Zealand is a country almost as geographically diverse as the United States

On April 15, North Korea will open the tallest and swankiest building in Pyongyang, the Ryugyong Hotel.

A Fabulous New Luxury Hotel—In North Korea?

The 1,080-foot-high Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, opening in April, has also been labeled the “Hotel of Doom”

Almost a whole page of the Dictionary of American Regional English is dedicated to "wampus," a Southern term for a variety of real creatures, such as a wild horse, and imagined ones, such as swamp wampuses and whistling wampuses.

Words from the Dictionary of American Regional English

After half a century of studying jib-jabbing, linguists have just finished the nation’s most ambitious dictionary of regional dialects

People wait in line at the Kogi Korean BBQ truck in Los Angeles.

How America Became a Food Truck Nation

Our new food columnist traces the food truck revolution back to its Los Angeles roots

Caravans cram this campground in Akaroa in a scene typical of New Zealand. Cyclists and hikers, when camped among such fleets of vehicles, may wish for a patch of privacy somewhere in the nearest forest—if only there were access.

Free Camping in New Zealand: Don’t Bank on It

Wild camping isn’t just a pleasure; it’s a necessity for many cyclists

The author facing off with the edge of the world, where the gray and blustery waters of the Southern Ocean meet the rocks of Curio Bay, in the Catlins.

Halfway to the Bottom of the Earth: The Catlins

To see this place on a globe, home of the world’s southernmost tapas reastaurant, one must lift it upward to expose the underbelly of the planet

Washington, D.C.

The 20 Best Food Trucks in the United States

The food truck revolution is in full force as mobile restaurants around the country dish out tacos, BBQ and other great eats

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Is New Zealand Too Dangerous for Cycling?

A Christchurch gentleman claimed to have knocked two cyclists off the road with his black H-2 Hummer and threatened to “nail” more

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What are Honesty Boxes?

Cyclists in New Zealand see these handmade, unguarded food stalls in the distance, advertising some product of the homestead

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