March 21, 2018 America's happiest seaside towns Find our 2013 annual list of the best places to live on the coast, ranked by you.
March 21, 2018 10 things to do in Asia before you die Whether you prefer to meet a holy monkey, eat sushi for breakfast, receive a monk's blessing, helicopter over the Himalayas, or just enjoy the myriad unique views—we've rounded up a bucket list of 50 things to do, eat, see, shop for, and experience in the wide world of Asia.
March 21, 2018 8 destinations for country music fans Hop into your best pair of jeans and cowboy boots and head to where country music is king. From Virginia to Missouri, here are eight destinations that celebrate all that is country music.
March 21, 2018 10 things to do in Palm Springs When it comes to a Palm Springs getaway, thoughts of poolside pleasures and verdant fairways come to mind, but there's a lot more to this desert oasis than meets than eye. You might be surprised to learn that Palm Springs boasts a vast concentration of Mid-Century Modern architecture, or that it's the date (as in the fruit) capital of the world. Of course, you're going to want to pack your bathing suit and some sunscreen, but don't forget your hiking shoes and perhaps even a parka if you plan on going to the top of San Jacinto Mountain. From Elvis's Honeymoon Hideaway to some serious shopping opportunities, you'll have more fun under the sun than you could have ever imagined.
March 21, 2018 Hotels where the Great Gatsby would stay It seems like Gatsby fever is starting to take hold with the highly anticipated opening of the 3D adaptation of the classic novel hitting theatres May 10. Movie-goers will swoon for the epic love affair between Jay Gatsby, (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) as it heads toward its tragic end. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby takes place in Long Island and New York City, but in the 77 years since it was published it has come to represent far more than a geographic area. Gatsby is about an American era and way of life - the style, decadence and danger of the Jazz Age, Prohibition and The Roaring Twenties. With Baz Lurhman’s frenetic film version of the book about to hit screens, we went looking for the hotels and inns that best celebrate the novel, the author, and the romance and glamor of the age. So get your flapper on!
March 21, 2018 7 national parks to visit at least once There’s something magical about entering a national park: The knowledge that just beyond the gates, some of nature’s most awe-inspiring offerings lay waiting to be explored, from 300,000-year-old volcanoes churning out red-hot lava to spectacularly carved sandstone arches to marshes teeming with wildlife like alligators and manatees. No surprise, then, that the U.S. National Parks draw more than 280 million visitors each year. While the crowds can be overwhelming in the summer, don’t let that stop you from making a visit – with some advance strategies, you can still enjoy solitude. Plus, National Park Week runs through Sunday, with free admission to many national parks. No matter when you visit, though, these national treasures are sure to delight.
March 21, 2018 America’s oldest taverns When we think about really old restaurants, we tend to gravitate toward the ones that are located in big cities and have been around seemingly forever, like Keens Steakhouse in Manhattan. Sure, Keens is one of the city’s oldest restaurants, having opened in 1885, but the oldest restaurants in the country are still not as old as something that’s entirely different: the country's oldest dining rooms, located inside taverns and inns. First, a little bit of history. Restaurants as we know them didn’t really exist in the United States until Delmonico’s opened in New York City in the 1830s. At this time, the whole concept of a "menu" was still pretty foreign, as the vast majority of people still ate at home, or at an inn or tavern, if they happened to be traveling and needed something to eat (or got hungry while out drinking). These stops didn’t have anything remotely resembling a bill of fare; if they happened to be making some beef stew in the kitchen, that’s what you’d be eating that night. And therein lies the difference between restaurants and dining rooms and bar rooms at taverns and inns. Whereas the earliest restaurants (and therefore America’s oldest) tended to be lavish affairs with gigantic menus, private dining rooms galore, and menu options like "palmettes of snipe, Osborn," dining rooms at taverns and inns were a much more modest affair, catering to the cold, weary traveler instead of the well-heeled, Diamond Jim Brady-types. It wasn’t until the later 1800s when more casual restaurants came about, in the form of delicatessens and lunch counters. In our quest to find America’s oldest taverns and inns, we tracked down lots of old Colonial-era houses that were converted into restaurants at some point in time, but many of them have only housed restaurants for less than 100 years. The taverns and inns on our list have fed the hungry for nearly as long as these buildings have been around, which in some cases is more than 300 years. And these aren’t museums, either; they’re places where you can still have a meal to this day, and they all date from before 1800. Read on for a trip back to the very earliest days of American dining.
March 21, 2018 Top 10 European sleeper cities With warmer weather on the horizon, folks are already beginning to dream about – and plan their trips to – far off destinations. Traveling abroad is an exciting adventure that can conjure up images of rich history, scenic beauty and possibly, an empty wallet. There’s no doubt about it, heading “across the pond” can be an expensive endeavor. This is especially true if you’re like most travelers who visit popular tourism hubs like Paris and London, cities with both high demand and hefty prices during the peak-summer season. However, a European summer trip doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg if you look beyond the more established tourist cities. Earlier this year, I shared a list of my favorite U.S. “sleeper cities,” a title the travel industry gives to up-and-coming destinations that feature big-city attractions without the big-city price tags. The list was so popular, and created so much conversation, that I decided to highlight similar cities for European-bound travelers. As the president of a travel company, I’m lucky enough to see trends as they develop, and I’ve found that visiting an off-the-beaten-path destination is often the right mix of value, revelation and respite. These cities offer a ton of history, incredible sight-seeing and great hotel deals (most under $100 per night). Plus, more and more European properties are recognizing the benefits of working with discount hotel sites (like Hotwire) to help them fill their unsold rooms, and that includes established international hotel chains. This means you can be sure you’ll get a great room for a ridiculously low price, leaving you with extra cash to spend on immersing yourself in the local culture. By visiting some of the following “sleeper” destinations, you can get your European adventure for a fraction of what it might cost to visit London or Paris, all while avoiding the copious summer crowds that come along with them.
March 21, 2018 America’s top 10 most commonly mispronounced towns and cities Want a dead give-away that you're not from these, there parts? Just try pronouncing the names of these towns. Luckily, the locals are used to hearing tourists hack the names of these cities, so hopefully they won’t run you out of town for it.
March 21, 2018 5 spectacular April getaways Itching to get away in April? The door has finally slammed shut on winter, and many of us are itching to get away and dust off the cold-weather cobwebs. April is shoulder season for many North American destinations, so this can also be a wonderfully affordable time for a carpe diem-inspired break. Here are five great family destinations that beckon in April.
