Transportation in Paris is quite comprehensive, with a subway system (Metro), urban rail (RER), buses, suburban trains (Transilien), trolleys, bike stations, and night buses (noctiliens) running regularly.

Paris and the surrounding region are divided into 6 different fare zones. Zone 1 being Paris itself, with Zone 6 being the furthest suburbs. A basic transport ticket will include zones 1 and 2, so the more zones you travel through, the more you have to pay.

For more information about traveling to Paris, check out Off the Brochure: Paris.

The Metro

Since Paris doesn’t sprawl to the degree of most American cities, you can go practically anywhere in 20 to 45 minutes by taking the …

The airplane may not be first on your list of most comfortable sleeping places.

Believe it or not, there are some unusual, but natural, ways to help you sleep better on airplanes.

A banana can help you get to sleep–it has melatonin, and serotonin, which act as sleep aids, and magnesium, which acts as a muscle relaxant.

Almonds contain tryptophan, which induces serotonin production.

If you’re having tea, drizzle honey in it–the glucose turns off your brain’s orexin, a neurotransmitter linked to alertness.

Listening to relaxing songs on your iPod or music player is also effective–studies show that music can maintain normal blood pressure and circulation.

Avoid alcohol–it may seem to relax you, but it also dehydrates, which can interrupt sleep.

And the best time to try …

During tough high seasons — spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course, summer months — there are few discounts.

But here’s how you can travel a bit cheaper.

The way around the busiest seasons is actually a simple one if you can plan ahead: think alternate airports and cities, and flights with intermediate stops in hub cities en route.

And if that doesn’t work, go to plan C: whether you have young children in school or they’re in college, figure out ahead of time if they can take exams a week earlier, or get extra credit for doing an assignment during a trip.

That way, you can leave early and avoid peak travel periods.

Outside of that terrible blackout period around the holidays when airfares …

Sweeping rule changes, ruined honeymoons, outraged passengers, embarrassed officials, government vacations…it’s like a soap opera that won’t end.

First, The Latest Updates

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires passport for land, air and sea travelers to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or countries in the Caribbean (not including St. Thomas, St John or Puerto Rico).

The passport requirement for air travel took effect on January 23, 2007. However, the flood of passport applications caused a massive backlog in the U.S. Department of State.

During the sweltering days of summer, sometimes the only thing that will quench your thirst is an ice-cold glass of water. For many of us, make that an ice-cold glass of mineral water.

So why not go straight to the source?

The bottled water industry has exploded in recent years, and as a result, many people are paying more attention to where their water is actually coming from…whether it’s a cold-water spring or an icy glacier. This is great news, since many of these famous waters come from regions that you can easily include on your next vacation.

On April 21, Captain Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad stepped onboard the Schooner Anne in Hoboken, New Jersey, knowing their feet wouldn’t touch land again for nearly three years.

They’re facing everything from storms, to making the supplies onboard last, to the psychology of being isolated after embarking on a 1,000 day worldwide sea voyage without docking or restocking.

“It’s certainly different looking at the list at sea with almost three years to go than it is looking at it onshore,” wrote Stowe of their food supply on Day 61 in the duo’s official blog. “Looking at years to come, we are really glad we got the extra food and it’s looking like …