Travel10

Zao Onsen, Japan — As the cable car glides up the mountain in Japan's Yamagata prefecture, the snow-covered fir trees below begin to transform, taking on a bulkier appearance as their green coats disappear under a mass of white. Soon they become unrecognizable, completely engulfed in fluffy piles of snow. The volume in the car increases a few decibels. Passengers excitedly raise their voices, snowboards and skis scraping across the floor as riders shuffle to move into better viewing positions to take in the incredible landscape below. It's a common reaction among those first encountering the legendary "snow monsters" of Zao Onsen -- or "juhyo" in Japanese. The excitement intensifies when passengers exit the tram and set out to explore the mysterious figures up close -- some on foot, others clutching their riding gear, ready to glide through the monsters as they make their way down the mountain. Do you want to build a snowman, Tim? The juhy...

Founded in 1690 on the banks of the river Hooghly, Kolkata -- or as it was known until 2001, Calcutta -- quickly grew from a fishing village into a flourishing colonial metropolis and served as the British imperial capital until 1911. Unlike other large cities in India, the capital of West Bengal has retained a great deal of charm, not least because hundreds of magnificent decaying buildings dating back to the British occupation have survived more or less intact -- giant government edifices, local mansions and historic hotels among them. Kolkata's cityscape offers a glimpse of times past: the commerce, culture and struggle of the subcontinent. "The people of Kolkata love their city's monuments, no matter who built them. There's a bit of East and West here and that's the way we like it," says Iftekhar Ahsan, owner of Calcutta Walks, a travel tour company that takes visitors on and off the beaten track in the West Bengal capital. Here's our sug...

Every year for just a few weeks, a towering bamboo theater rises from Ap Lei Chau, one of the world's most densely populated islands. As many as 1,000 people will pack the 81-feet-wide, 130-feet-long, and 45-feet-high bamboo behemoth in southern Hong Kong, where a Cantonese opera is staged to celebrate the birthday of Hung Shing, the god of the southern sea -- still a revered figure on this former fishing isle. This is one of about 40 bamboo theaters erected around Hong Kong throughout the year to host performances honoring various Chinese gods. But their construction is something of a mystery. A bamboo theater has no written blueprint. Workers say they build them based on instinct, rapport and experience -- they learn their trade on the job during apprenticeships. Today, less than 100 people in Hong Kong specialize in the craft, says Chan Yuk-kwong, owner of Wah Bo Engineering, which executed the Ap Lei Chau project in 2018 -- and has done so each year for the past ...

Europe's hottest destination for tourists, Berlin offers more than bargain-priced nightclubs and Cold War nostalgia. Some of the most interesting sights in Germany are just a few hours away from the country's capital city -- and with the deregulation of the intercity bus system, getting around is cheaper than ever. Here's a shortlist of three great day trips from Berlin: 1. Potsdam The site of the famous "Potsdam Conference" that negotiated the end of World War II and a series of opulent Hohenzollern palaces, Potsdam lies only about an hour from the center of Berlin, with all the major attractions easily reachable by public transport. It's a day trip not because of the travel time, but because there's so much to see. Highlights include the breathtaking Sanssouci Palace (Maulbeerallee, Potsdam; +49 331 9694200), the former summer residence of Frederick the Great -- who ruled the Prussian Empire from 1740 to 1786. A pale and beautiful Ro...

An undiscovered beach town in Mediterranean Europe? Well, almost. Perched high up a white limestone cliff on the southern coast of Corsica lies the medieval town of Bonifacio. Known as the "Mediterranean's Sentinel," or simply, the "Citadel of Cliffs," it's arguably the best-kept secret in France. It's untroubled by summer crowds despite being in possession of beautiful cobblestone alleyways and a shoreline of sparkling waters. Bonifacio is on the southern coast of Corsica, separated from the Italian island of Sardinia by the 11-kilometer-long Strait of Bonifacio, which is named after the town. The two islands were once joined, but volcanic activity tore them apart, leaving huge shards of granite rock in the turquoise waters. The sea floor here is now dotted with wrecks of pirate ships and ancient vessels which crashed against the many crags, and has become a mecca for divers. "During the harshest winds, fishermen boats can't g...

Buckingham Palace, the Dickens Museum, Hyde Park, a Hitchcock walking tour, Kew Gardens, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, St. Paul's cathedral, the Thames, Wimbledon -- these are just a few examples of the best of London. It should be no surprise that a city 2,000 years old is an alphabetic mishmash of things to gawp at. But like a Dickensian novel, the best of London's real character seeps out of the cracks that split its major attractions. Yes, London is the world's financial capital (along with New York), yes it's Europe's cultural hub and, yes, more than 300 languages are spoken within its perimeter. But we don't care about any of that, mate. Transport links have been improved, hotels have had facelifts and restaurants have been refitted. London looks better as a result and now -- before the dust and grime settle down again -- is a great time to visit the city: Hotels Luxury The Savoy It came a year late and £100 million over budget, but...

The Dubai Miracle Garden is certainly aptly named considering that -- like pretty much everything in this Middle Eastern destination -- it was built on desert land. Billing itself as the world's largest natural flower garden, the 72,000-square-meter attraction has more than 60 million flowers on display. Located in Dubailand near the Arabian Ranches, it opened on Valentine's Day in 2013 and now attracts up to 1.5 million visitors a year. The floral structures are changed every season to ensure repeat visitors get a different experience each time they travel here. Highlights have included a life-size replica of the Emirates Airbus A380, which received the Guinness Book of World Records' "largest floral installation" title in 2016. "People get tired of malls, closed places," Abdel Nasser Y. Rahhal, the man behind the attraction, told NBC News. "I hope people will understand that this country is not only for extremes in concrete and ...

San Francisco, California (CNN) — Because the City by the Bay is actually on a mountainous peninsula, getting to where you're going in and around San Francisco, California takes some strategic planning unless, of course, you've cashed your stock options from a startup and now fly exclusively by private jet. For those of us without equity in a multibillion-dollar company, it's easy to cut down on commute time after the airport with some careful planning. San Francisco proper occupies a mere 49 square (and hilly) miles, but everything known as the Bay Area encompasses eight sprawling counties, each of which offers a smorgasbord of diversions, distractions, and day trips. North of Silicon Valley's massive tech industry in San Jose, there's a plethora of museums for those seeking culture, pristine redwood forests in Marin County just over the Golden Gate Bridge for those looking for some nature therapy, and, of course, around 400 wineries when all of that s...

Unfortunately, miracles are hard to come by in this thing we call life, but if the opening of a sea turtle nest doesn't make you a believer, precious little ever will. Projeto Tamar, the Brazilian organization dedicated to the plight of the native sea turtle, usually tries to keep the opening of nests on the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha a private affair. Luckily, I'm privy to insider information on this perfect piece of protected paradise in the Atlantic that's 326 miles off the northeast coast of Brazil. My wife has worked with ecotourism in Brazil's best-kept secret for nearly two decades. She often gets a heads-up when nest openings -- a little something I like to call tropical Christmas -- are about to go down at this destination. Green sea turtle nests line the golden sands on Praia do Leão and the island's inner sea beaches between December and June. Anticipation builds as Tamar's biologists slowly dig their hands into the sun-toasted ...

What does it feel like to spend 17 hours on board an airplane? That's what CNN Travel set out to discover when we boarded the Qantas jet making the first direct flight from Australia to the UK. From copious cups of coffee to jazzy pajamas to state-of-the-art facilities, what followed was a whirlwind adventure that marks a new era for intercontinental voyaging to far-flung destinations. Here's what we learned on the groundbreaking journey across the globe. 1. It makes speed economical Back in the day, the original London to Australia flight was known as the Kangaroo service because it hopped to no less than seven stopovers over a period of four days. Now it's a swift 17 hours -- perfect for vacationers, expats and business travelers alike. It's not the world's longest plane journey, but it's one of the most economical. You could always have connected Perth with London, using the Boeing 777-200 LR or the A350 500 or the Airbus A388, but you co...