(First of two parts)

Prior to our June 2015 Canal du Midi cruise in southwestern France (see my August and September 2015 columns), my wife, Gail, and I allowed time to experience Montpellier.

Notable Montpellier

Compared with many of it neighbors, the city of Montpellier is a relative newcomer, its origins traced to the 10th century. By the 13th century, it was a thriving center of commerce and trade with the East, including the exporting of wine. Montpellier has the...

Crowds are becoming an increasing nuisance at top European attractions. There’s almost no way to experience places like the Sistine Chapel or the Palace of Versailles without a constant and raging commotion of tourists. 

It’s not uncommon to find waits of an hour or more in ticket-buying lines and rooms packed shoulder to shoulder with visitors and intercontinental body odor. So it’s up to smart travelers to do whatever is possible to minimize hassles and maximize their experience....

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 475th issue of your foreign travel magazine, the one written largely by its subscribers, people who travel for fun!

I’m writing mainly on one subject this month, so I’ll get right to it.

A minor alteration made recently in one of the US regulations for Americans visiting Cuba has left some travelers with the impression that they are allowed a certain freedom of independent movement while in Cuba. But any US citizen...