trips

TomTom's Live connected navigation service gets more useful with the addition of travel-specific apps by Yelp, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Twitter. The TomTom Go Live 1535M will be the first device to take advantage of the new functionality, with owners of the Go Live 2353M gaining parity through a software update this fall.

The new apps will live in the Services menu and, to be fair, "Services" is a more apt description of the new functions than "Applications," but we shan't split hairs. What most of the apps do is provide access to a wider selection of points of interest (POIs) than could be preinstalled on the unit, along with secondary information about those POIs.… Read more

GENEVA, Switzerland--If you're the kind of person who understands that watches can be art, you would be wise to make your way to this city of the world in order to check out what has to be one of the best collections of historical timepieces on the planet.

Housed at the Patek Philippe Museum, hundreds of watches spanning nearly 600 years greet visitors to this stately early-20th century mansion. While much of the museum is dedicated to famous watchmaker Patek Philippe's own works, it is the historical archives that truly reward those who take the time to visit. … Read more

ZURICH, Switzerland--There's nothing quite like the confidence that you've got the tools to help you keep from getting lost in a strange city.

This summer, I spend two months in Europe as part of Road Trip 2011, and just about every day of the project, I found myself in some sort of situation where I had to figure out how to get from point A to point B.

For many people who travel abroad, tackling such situations is tricky because they don't have access to a mobile device that can help them with directions--or, say, information about … Read more

PARIS--There's something amazing about taking the train from London to Paris in just two-and-a-half hours.

To be sure, it's been possible to make that trip since 1994, but if you've never done it before, stepping onto a train in the middle of the British capital and stepping off in the center of the French capital is totally cool.

I've been traveling to Europe since 1979, and I'd crossed the English Channel by boat back in the mid-1980s, and by plane in the 1990s. Going by fast train was always one of those abstract things that … Read more

ZURICH, Switzerland--There's something about a German sports car that makes even the hairiest road seem like something you want to keep driving.

A few days ago, that feeling was reinforced as I (carefully) wound my way up and over some of the most amazing passes in the Swiss Alps. With barely enough room for one car, let alone two abreast, with drops of thousands of feet just off the side of the cliffs, and guardrails pretty much an afterthought, I knew that I was being tested. But I was driving Audi's terrific RS 5, and I wasn't … Read more

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany--The thunder and lightning outside are fierce, so there are no flights today. That's disappointing for anyone who had been scheduled to fly, but for me it's a blessing: I get to see Europe's only Zeppelin NT in its home hangar.

As part of Road Trip 2011 I'd come to this Germany city on Lake Constance to visit the Zeppelin Museum, but as a bonus, I was now headed out for a meeting with Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (ZLT), the only company in the world that makes the internal-structure airships. And with buckets of water coming down … Read more

Recently, I took a road trip from San Francisco, Calif., to San Diego and back. Yes, I was headed to Comic-Con 2011 and yes, I had a blast while I was there, but ask any real car lover and they'll tell you that the best part of any road trip is the getting there part. And if you're a technophile like I am, the getting there will usually include a few tech toys.

Partially by design and partially by accident, I used a different tech loadout for the two legs of the trip. Getting there, I used a … Read more

ZURICH, Switzerland--I've never had this nightmare, but I can easily imagine how it goes: My deadline is fast approaching, and I haven't uploaded my story yet. The only way to do so is to get online, but I have no Internet. All the Wi-Fi is slow, or doesn't work, and the clock is ticking away. I wake up screaming.

This could easily have been my real-life nightmare anytime this summer as I traveled throughout Europe on Road Trip 2011, filing stories and photo galleries nearly every day on the wide range of places I visited--tunnel projects, air … Read more

STUTTGART, Germany--Let's say you're an ostrich farmer, and you've just bought a Porsche. And that you want to outfit the interior of your new car in the leather from some of your precious birds. Could you get your wish?

Yes, is the answer, thanks to Porsche Exclusive, a 25-year-old program through which buyers of the luxury cars can, for a price, have them customized in some very unusual ways.

Are you an Arabian king wanting to get a new Porsche in your country's national colors for each of your ministers? No problem. An American rancher wanting … Read more