Correspondents for The New York Times reported from more than 140 countries this year, covering war, terrorism, political upheaval, natural disaster and social change. But they also found stories about searching for mussels beneath the ice in northern Quebec, about Italian pizzamakers recognized for their intangible contributions to human culture, and about running the Beirut marathon.

Most of these stories were what we call “journals” — a longstanding weekday feature by Times correspondents around the world that aims to bring readers to places they haven’t been, in the hope of offering insight into a place and culture. The journals can offer a refuge from the weighty, pressing and — let’s face it — tragic news that tends to fill the headlines. Like postcards, they offer glimpses of communities and subcultures, often touching on food, history, sociology and the arts.

Here are some of our favorites from 2017.