Author: Maarten Van Den Driessche

How one man used travel not as escape — but as transformation. Peter the Great stands out in history not just for building St. Petersburg or modernizing Russia, but because he understood something remarkably modern: travel changes people — and changed nations.At a time when rulers rarely left their courts, Peter took the opposite path.…

Some cities grow so vast, so interconnected, and so permanently in motion that a single airport simply can’t carry their rhythm. These are the dual-airport cities — metropolises where two aviation ecosystems coexist: one usually built for long-haul reach, the other for convenience, domestic routes, or low-cost agility. As someone who checks approach charts the…

The man who mapped the world without ever intending to leave home. Mick Jagger never applied for the role of “world traveler.” No vision board, no bucket list, no Lonely Planet guide dog-eared on a nightstand. And yet, somewhere between a teenage blues band and a 60-year phenomenon, he managed to draw his own private…

QuixoticGuide Editorial November has a reputation for being Europe’s gloomiest month. The light fades faster than your morning coffee, the rain feels endless, and the calendar somehow becomes both empty and overwhelming. Every year, the November Dip settles in — that collective low-energy lull between autumn’s glow and December’s sparkle. But there’s a twist:While people…

Few places in the world feel as if they were carved directly out of mythology — but Al-Ula is one of them. Tucked deep in northwestern Saudi Arabia, this oasis city is a living open-air museum of sandstone canyons, Nabataean tombs, lush palm valleys, and striking modern art installations that rise from the desert like…

Tucked deep within the mountains of western Sichuan, Daocheng Yading Airport (DCY) is one of the most dramatic and unforgettable airports on Earth. Sitting at 4,411 meters (14,472 ft) above sea level, it holds the title of the highest civilian airport in the world — a place where the air is thin, the views are…

Jet lag isn’t something you “fix,” it’s something you manage. Your body just needs time to catch up, but you can make the process much easier. Before You Fly Shift your sleep slightly.If you’re flying east, go to bed earlier for a couple of days. If you’re flying west, push your bedtime later. You don’t…

In just a few years, Saudi Arabia has transformed from one of the world’s most closed travel destinations into one of its most ambitious. What was once a country known primarily for religious pilgrimage is now emerging as a global tourism hotspot — backed by massive investments, liberalized visa rules, and a strong push to…

Perched on the southern tip of Santiago Island, Praia may not shout for attention like other capitals — but that’s exactly its charm. Here, the pace slows to the rhythm of morna music and Atlantic trade winds. The name Praia literally means “beach,” yet the city offers far more than sand and surf. The historical…

In November 2012, a team of Australian scientists set sail toward a small speck in the Coral Sea. Their charts showed a landmass named Sandy Island, located between Australia and New Caledonia. It appeared on Google Maps, world atlases, and nautical databases — about the size of Manhattan. But when the researchers arrived, they found……