THE FUSE

From biking across vineyard-dotted hills in Europe to witnessing one of the world's most breathtaking lakes in Pakistan, these are the 10 stories we couldn't stop talking about this year.

A great travel story can change the way we see the world. It can transport us to places we've never been, reveal new sides to places we think we know and inspire us to care about people and cultures that we previously didn't know existed.

Every year, we publish hundreds of awe-inspiring, immersive travel articles from around the globe. These are the 10 that we couldn't stop talking about this year – the ones that moved us, transformed us and reminded us how wonderfully diverse the world can be. From a bay where travellers can walk on the ocean floor to a US town that runs on horsepower, we hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as we did.

"One of the great joys of reading BBC Travel stories for me is learning about places I thought I knew something about – and this story is a great example of that. Who would have known that in the midst of the 'car capital of the world', there's a tiny time capsule of an island home to 600 horses, no cars and the only highway in the US where it's illegal to drive? This place seems weird, whimsical and wonderful." – Eliot Stein

"This piece does exactly what great travel journalism should: it takes a place the internet flattens into a single image and restores all the complexity behind it. I appreciate the careful and textured reporting, which anchors the story in the lives of the displaced communities – not just the intensely blue lake that later went viral. The result is an important story that threads geology, grief, resilience and tourism together, and trusts the reader with all of it." – Ellie Cobb

"One of the biggest news stories of 2025 was the election of a new pope, and this very timely World's Table story was one of our most-loved reads of the year. And with good reason; this elegantly written piece examines an ancient, mysterious tradition through a human lens. So, what do they eat? Hint: nothing stuffed." – Eva Sandoval

"This town in Arizona has a James Beard-nominated Mexican restaurant, candle-making and ceramics studios, a bike shop and a sustainable clothing store stitched together by walking and bike paths between its densely packed, bright-white homes. There are doctors, markets, even train access, but no four-wheelers in sight. As architect Daniel Parolek says, it's about being 'car free, but mobility rich'. The piece doesn't just highlight a cool place to visit, but an enticing way to live." – Laura Norkin

"I love stories that illuminate lesser-known American history, and this one does exactly that. The piece not only made me want to visit Locke but also inspired me to read up on Asian American history in the American West. This piece is a beautifully written reminder of the diversity that makes the US really interesting." – Lynn Brown

"This is just fantastic travel writing, plain and simple. It's terrifically well-researched and reported, it's deeply engaging and it transports me to the Bay of Fundy's dramatic tides. I can feel the bay's towering sea stacks, sense its glistening hanks of kelp and smell its saline tang. Gorgeous kicker, too. If you've ever wanted to be a travel journalist, give this a read." – Eliot Stein

"What I love about this is the simplicity of the premise paired with the sophistication of the execution. The writer turns a border-crossing bike path into a vivid story about the joy of travelling at human speed. It's useful without ever feeling like service, and shows that sustainable travel stories can be ambitious without feeling didactic. Reading it makes you want to lace up, hop on a bike and rethink what a 'European break' can be." – Ellie Cobb

"First of all, a piece of buttered toast covered in sprinkles isn't a sandwich by anyone's definition – and the joyful quirkiness of this story (and snack) only begins there. The fact that Dutch businessmen belly up to tables to enjoy this during a work lunch made me laugh, but reading that more than 15 million kgs of the stuff is consumed annually means I probably hadn't been taking hagelslag seriously enough. It is, according to this piece, emblematic of a Dutch way of being. 'They're not over-analysing this, thinking: Is this healthy? Is this for children? They're just indulging in a relatively simple pleasure.' That makes perfect sense to me." – Laura Norkin

"Have you wondered what happens to lost luggage at the airport? The answer is unspooled in this tale about a visit to Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, Alabama, a city-block-sized repository filled with everything from wedding dresses to functioning electronics to medieval armour. The prose bounces back-and-forth between the mythical and the mundane – the thought of collections of Cartier, Louis Vuitton and Gucci items sitting patiently in a storehouse in the Appalachian foothills sounds almost preposterous. And yet that's the joy of the piece; it transports you to a world where the ordinary can become extraordinary." – Francis Agustin

"Workshops selling strappy leather sandals made while you wait are so common a sight in Athens that they seem to repeat in the background, like a glitch in the Matrix. I loved how this article forces the traveller to slow down and really look at those colourful souvenirs, perhaps as if for the first time, and see the centuries of artisanry behind them." – Eva Sandoval

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