(CNN) — This week in travel news, Time Out and TIME both announced their annual must-visit lists, while AirlineRatings.com named the world’s best airlines for 2022.
Destination inspiration
First, Time Out released its 2022 collection of the world’s best cities. In a list dominated by Europe, Scotland had two cities in the top five. (You can hear what Anthony Bourdain made of the country when he visited in 2015 on the “Parts Unknown” podcast.) Edinburgh Castle towers over Princes Street Gardens in Scotland’s leading city. Chris Hepburn/E+/Getty Images Then TIME released its list of the 50 best places in the world: Japanese islands, a wine region in South Africa and some South American cities were among them. Other recommendations from us here at CNN Travel include these spots in Europe — where the dollar is strong against the euro — and the Maldives: I mean, just look at these overwater villas.
Unusual miracles
In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates may only be 50 years old, but there are millennia of history to explore. Abu Dhabi is home to a number of historic treasures, including the 18th-century Hosn Palace and the verdant man-made splendor of the Al Ain Oasis. Then there are Abu Dhabi’s eerie petrified sand dunes: frozen waves of solid sand that have been formed over tens of thousands of years.
Taste the world
Respected food writer Grace Young is having a moment. She just won the Julia Child Award and the James Beard Award for Humanitarian of the Year for 2022 and is deep into a mission to save America’s Chinatowns. And if Asian food is your jam, you might also enjoy our story on how “mild” tofu became one of the hottest foods in the world. And if you’re still hungry for more, try this Japanese teahouse that lets guests drink from $25,000 worth of antique bowls.
Be careful out there
It’s wildfire season in California, and firefighters are working hard to protect Yosemite National Park’s giant sequoias — the largest trees on Earth by volume. The Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru were also threatened by fires earlier this month. In Kyrgyzstan, a group of tourists hiking in the Tian Shan Mountains were lucky to survive a huge avalanche that hit them on July 8: See here. And uninjured travelers may still be looking at massive flight delays and cancellations as airlines and airports struggle to meet summer demand.
Aloha, Hawaii
In case you missed it
A Middle Eastern airline has been named the best in the world for the second year in a row. Got broken links?
