SEATTLE ― Pike Place Market. The Space Needle. Pioneer Square. Check, check and check.If you’ve hit these obvious Seattle destinations, you’re not a newbie. But maybe you’re not an insider either.So, this Seattle checklist is for you. It skirts those three attractions and several other popular stops to make more room for Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont and the University District ― four asset-rich Seattle neighborhoods my family and I explored on a visit last summer. Our list starts with three st

Despite the long distance, Mexico has become one of the most sought-after travel destinations for Koreans, a high-ranking Mexican official said Thursday.The Mexican Tourism Board saw 15.3 percent increase in the number of Korean travelers to the Latin American country from 34,965 in 2011 to 40,303 this year. It attracted a record 23.4 million tourists from around the world in 2011, making it the 10th most visited country in the world. “Korea is a strategic market for Mexico. As this year celebra

LILLEHAMMER, Norway ― The visitors touring Maihaugen Heritage Village were itching with curiosity. They’d wandered the site’s narrow lanes and peered inside the 200-year-old log cabins. They’d explored the craft shops and traditional hand-hewn barns brought from far-flung farms and forests and reassembled here, under the trees. Now they wanted to know if any of Norway’s leading figures ― statesmen, film makers, painters or artists ― had their roots in these humble huts.“What about Thor Heyerdahl

A French lake that transformed into a deep shade of red has surprised many tourists. The color change is a natural phenomenon believed to stem from the salt crystals surrounding the lake in Camargue, southern France. The sight was captured by a Russian photographer Sam Dobson, who stumbled across the scene by chance while driving through France. “I’d read a lot of things about Camargue but I’d never heard anything about this,” he said. Sam went on: “The salty crystals can be seen everywhere. Eve

The Grand Hilton Seoul is hosting its annual traditional German Oktoberfest on Sept. 8.The hotel, located in Hongeun-dong, northern Seoul, invites guests for an evening of celebration with beer and traditional German food. The festival is Korea’s largest Oktoberfest event, which draws more than 1,000 people every year. Originated in Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest festival attracting about 7.5 million people every year. The origin of the festival is known as the celebration p

The coolest places in the country to beat the summer heat with families and friendsIt’s just too hot. A heat wave warning was issued for the first time in Seoul this week and the heat wave is likely to scorch the country for a few more weeks. However, there is an escape. Try these extremely cool ideas for chilling out during the dog days of summer.Ice artIce Gallery, the world’s first indoor gallery exclusively for ice sculptures, is in Seoul. Located across Jeongdok Library in Hwa-dong near Sam