Every year, thousands of people from all over the world make their way to England’s Hampton Court Palace. So it has been since Queen Victoria threw open the palace’s gilded gates to the general public in 1838.

With the palace located just a short train ride from central London, today’s visitors come to traipse through the 500 years of English history embedded in the some-1,000-room royal abode.

Built by Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century, Hampton Court...

In my January 2020 column, I invited readers to send me their favorite On-the-Road Travel Tips, applying to anything that makes your travel experience work better for you while actually traveling.

The response has been excellent, and the first selection of tips is presented below (with my own comments added where appropriate). Hopefully, you will find some of the offerings in this series to be applicable to your own travels.

Karen Gifford (Raleigh, NC) — After arriving in...

Clinging to a bend in the Rhone River in the south of France, Avignon looks and feels like it stepped out of a medieval fairy tale. While it's largely famous for its 14th-century heyday as a papal capital and its even older 12th-century bridge, Avignon has plenty to offer beyond history. Today this walled Provençal town is a youthful place full of atmospheric cafes, fun shops, and numerous hide-and-seek squares ideal for postcard-writing and people-watching.

An easy...