Some people call Wilmington, North Carolina, "Hollywood East" because of all the movies and TV shows filmed here. In the last three decades, more than 400 feature films, documentaries and television series have been shot and edited around town, drawing notable actors from Andy Griffith to Richard Gere.
These days Croatia's Dalmatian Coast is inundated with tourists -- and understandably so. But after a visit to Dubrovnik, the "Pearl of the Adriatic," I'm in the mood for a good Balkan adventure and decide to drive directly inland ... to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It was a good thing nobody warned me about all those hills and the cars zooming by.
My vacation itineraries are usually determined by the fact that I am a lone woman traveling with three guys: my husband and two sons. If I want their company, then cooking classes, spas and quilt shows are out.
"Experience the Wild Beauty" is Montenegro's newest tourist slogan.
Tears welled in my eyes twice while hiking some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet -- once in mid-wretch gag and once in awe-struck wonder.
From laid-back Florida beaches to guided mule rides in the Grand Canyon's North Rim, our editors picked these getaways with the average American family's tax rebate of $1,200 in mind.
After a mile or so on the rugged Kalalau Trail, hikers who have slogged through red mud and climbed over slippery rocks stop abruptly. Far down to the right, the sapphire ocean shimmers. As the trail winds to the left, a cool canopy of deep-green foliage dotted with pink and orange blossoms awaits. In the distance, the coastline juts in and out, its steep cliffs dropping to the sea.
It's like something out of a movie: A boat filled with tourists -- drinking and happy, delighted with the exploits of the passing dolphins -- washes up to a rugged island whose exotic name conjures the mystique surrounding this place.
Some people call Wilmington, North Carolina, "Hollywood East" because of all the movies and TV shows filmed here. In the last three decades, more than 400 feature films, documentaries and television series have been shot and edited around town, drawing notable actors from Andy Griffith to Richard Gere.
These days Croatia's Dalmatian Coast is inundated with tourists -- and understandably so. But after a visit to Dubrovnik, the "Pearl of the Adriatic," I'm in the mood for a good Balkan adventure and decide to drive directly inland ... to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It was a good thing nobody warned me about all those hills and the cars zooming by.
My vacation itineraries are usually determined by the fact that I am a lone woman traveling with three guys: my husband and two sons. If I want their company, then cooking classes, spas and quilt shows are out.
"Experience the Wild Beauty" is Montenegro's newest tourist slogan.
Tears welled in my eyes twice while hiking some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet -- once in mid-wretch gag and once in awe-struck wonder.
From laid-back Florida beaches to guided mule rides in the Grand Canyon's North Rim, our editors picked these getaways with the average American family's tax rebate of $1,200 in mind.
After a mile or so on the rugged Kalalau Trail, hikers who have slogged through red mud and climbed over slippery rocks stop abruptly. Far down to the right, the sapphire ocean shimmers. As the trail winds to the left, a cool canopy of deep-green foliage dotted with pink and orange blossoms awaits. In the distance, the coastline juts in and out, its steep cliffs dropping to the sea.
It's like something out of a movie: A boat filled with tourists -- drinking and happy, delighted with the exploits of the passing dolphins -- washes up to a rugged island whose exotic name conjures the mystique surrounding this place.
The Dordogne River valley is one of the most beautiful areas in France -- and there are plenty of stylish hotels where even a weak dollar goes far.
Shining with Orthodox golden domes that rise from forested hilltops, crisscrossed by narrow cobblestone streets, and speckled by quiet, leafy parks, Kiev draws visitors with an Eastern European charm.
With four-digit inflation and violent Maoist guerrillas, Peru for many years was hardly the place for a seaweed wrap in a swank hotel.
Sondra Bernstein shocked Sonoma 10 years ago with her tiny, Cab-free restaurant, the Girl & the Fig. No Chardonnay even -- just Rhône wines (many locally grown and made) and a gutsy southern French menu fashioned out of the county's bounty. And at nearby Cafe La Haye, John McReynolds and Saul Gropman had started turning out stellar California-French dishes in a kitchen they could reach across.
Bergen's old Hanseatic Quarter has a crude yet romantic charm. I crouch under creaky timbers, as I wander through the Hanseatic Museum. The oversized cupboards around me once housed humble Norwegians -- each miniscule "bedroom" giving them darkness and warmth through the cold, but not very long, Nordic night. Primitive paintings of buxom maidens with come-hither smiles decorated the doors, as if to bring sweet dreams to those rustic 16th-century lives.
Stockholm has a reputation for being one of Europe's most expensive cities. T+L hits the streets of the fashionable capital and proves otherwise.
Cheap hotels, every kind of food you can imagine. Plenty of sizzle, spectacle, first-rate theatrical productions, giant red rocks for climbing and water playgrounds.
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Washington Tuesday for his first visit to the United States in his three years as head of the Roman Catholic Church. His visit to Washington and New York includes plans for a Mass at the new Nationals Park, a meeting at the White House, a speech at the United Nations, a visit to Ground Zero and Mass at Yankee Stadium.
No doubt the Taj Mahal steals the breath away. But as a repeat visitor to India, I have often arrived at its gates too exhausted to have much breath left to steal.
Sitting on the top row of the ancient arena, I scan the ruins of Ostia, letting my imagination take me back 2,000 years to the days when this was ancient Rome's seaport, a thriving commercial center of 60,000 people. I marvel also at how few visitors make the simple commuter train trip from downtown Rome to what I consider the most underappreciated sight in all of Italy.
"Cow. Mustard plant. Dead body," our taxi driver said as we drove into town.
It's that time of year when New Orleans slathers up and chills out.
Tired of stressing about what your pale skin and flabby muscles are going to look like on the beach during your summer vacation?
Under the glow of a southwest Florida sun, sleek sailboats dance on turquoise seas. With every gentle lapping of the warm blue water on Captiva, a whispered tinkling sound settles around your bare feet. It's the murmur of the Gulf of Mexico tumbling pink, orange, red, gray and blue shells on the ivory sand.
The jammed parking lot outside Muir Woods is proof this stand of old-growth coast redwoods is a popular spot.
They're bright, blue and beloved. And they're showing themselves in small patches along highways.
Luxurious or rustic. Remote island or classic coastal hike. Whatever your style, you can make it green.
Morocco is probably best-known to American travelers for cities like Fez, Casablanca and Marrakech. But this country in the northwest corner of Africa is actually a place of dramatic variety. On a two-week or even one-week visit, it's feasible to fit in a trip to a major city or two, in addition to exploring rural areas.
The cobblestoned streets of Nantucket Town (Nantucket is the name of the Massachusetts island, the county and the main town) look like the prototype for Ye Olde Villages everywhere. In the eastern town of Sconset, the post office serves as a central meeting spot, as it has for the past 106 years. And all across the island, the biggest badge of local pride is a worn-out Jeep, with years' worth of beach permits -- the more, the better.
Goggles -- check. Helmet -- check. Headset -- check. "Bronco, I'm ready for takeoff." The engine rumbles, the propeller spins, and the faint smell of fuel rises around me.
Visitors are flocking to witness the spectacular eruption at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, despite explosions and toxic fumes.
I love to scamper, at low tide, shoes in my hands, far from shore, across the mud flat in the vast Bay of Mont St. Michel. Splashing across black sand and through little puddles, I head for a dramatic abbey reaching to heaven from a rock surrounded by a vast and muddy solitude.
Strap on 3-D glasses and watch holograms of cartoon sperm sprinting to fertilize an egg. Climb inside a gigantic nose, enjoy the smell of fresh hay, then feel the wind blast on your neck when it sneezes. Walk across a bouncy rubber tongue complete with taste buds and realistic burping noises in the background.
In late April, tiny pastel bits of a giant San Antonio party show up everywhere: trickling from your hair, embedded in the carpet under your desk, stuck to your furniture. The confetti comes from an egg that was cracked over your head by a mischievous friend or relative, and it's inescapable.
Siena seems to be every Italy connoisseur's pet town. More than a sum of places to see, Siena itself is the sight. Grab a gelato, join in the evening stroll, and end up at the town's glorious red brick main square, Il Campo. Lean up against a pillar as the setting sun plays games with the colors of the stone and the sky. At twilight, first-time poets savor that magic moment when the sky turns into a rich blue dome as bright as the medieval tower that holds it high.
It's 8 p.m. on a Friday, and a fashionable group of men and women is sitting around the pewter bar at Proof on Washington, D.C.'s G Street. "Do you cook?" asks a 30-something lawyer with shaggy black hair as she tilts a glass of red wine toward the guy next to her. "If my apartment had come without a kitchen," he replies with a grin, "I wouldn't have noticed." Everyone laughs knowingly.
Late each winter, when the snow gets sloppy and the streams get muddy, the same thought begins creeping ever more insistently into my mind: I need green. I need warm. I need spring.
Artists and other creative types are having their way with hotel rooms -- and they're thinking way outside the box.
Imagine you and your favorite travel partner dangling in your own private little gondola, gliding silently for 40 minutes as you cross the Mer de Glace or "sea of ice."
One disconcerting thing about sightseeing on these frozen Arctic islands at the edge of the polar ice pack: the biggest tourist attractions might be returning your stare. And to them, you're a potential meal.
Spring is the loveliest time of year to visit a public garden. Cherry trees bloom, lilacs perfume the breeze and tulips color the landscape.
Travel + Leisure, Headline News and CNN.com want to know which U.S. cities are your favorites -- and why!
The Loire Valley, two hours southwest of Paris, offers France's greatest array of chateau experiences.
As the Sky Train departs Beijing West Railway Station at 9:30 p.m., there isn't an inch of unclaimed real estate in the train's 16 carriages. Suitcases spill into the aisles, doubling as chairs for passengers without seats.
Like many Irish-Americans, I'm curious about my roots. Unlike most Irish-Americans, my surname, Nephin, gives little hint that I am of Irish descent.
We're barely out of our cars before the chorus starts: "I just want to see a ghost orchid!"
Everybody knows what the Empire State Building looks like. That's why Rick Bell, the head of the Center for Architecture, didn't put the famous skyscraper on his list of 10 great buildings to see in New York.
York is a highlight for any visit to Britain -- by far the best stop between London and Edinburgh. It has a huge church and, locals love to add, "A giant bell."
From butterflies to grizzly bears, we know where the wild things are.
Forget lists of "What's Next" in travel. Eastern Europe is "What's Now." While it's catching up to the West -- becoming more modern, expensive and crowded -- Eastern Europe remains a great value. Here's what to expect this year.
Flip through a rack of postcards in any Biloxi, Mississippi, gift shop, and along with images of magnolia trees and sunsets, you're likely to find a few satellite shots of Hurricane Katrina looming over the Gulf Coast. "Why not?" asks a store clerk downtown. "We lived it."
Tucson grandmother Sandy Maxfield is determined to get her groove back -- on skis.
Sunny Spain and Portugal, along with Morocco's gateway city of Tangier, beckon travelers who delight in ornate architecture, authentic culture and people-watching strolls in the cool of the evening. Here's what to expect if you visit this year.
It is not unusual for motorists on Ireland's western coast to feel as if they've driven straight into a painting, bordered on one side by picture-perfect waves and on the other by fusing shades of green.
There are thousands of glaciers in Alaska, and seeing some up close will surely be a highlight of any trip you might be planning to the 49th state this summer.
Travelers heading to Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia this year will be greeted by a host of new museums, improved infrastructure and special events. Here's what to expect if you visit.
The cobblestone path dips below street level to a small haven of mottled red brick buildings and arched doorways. The occasional bicycle is propped up against a wall. A trilingual sign forbids sunbathing, picking fruit or loud talking.
Many beaches in Southern Thailand are overrun with Western travelers, but the quiet stretch of powdery sand known as Rai Lay, on Krabi Island -- only accessible by boat -- is an exception. Its towering limestone cliffs and tropical foliage, and the crystal-blue waters of the Andaman Sea, make this low-key hideaway a romantic alternative to places like Phuket.
It was near the end of a six-hour bus tour of Denali National Park that we got a good, long look at a bear eating his way through a field of berries.
It's been 10 years since Disney started its cruises with the Disney Magic ship, followed in 1999 by Disney Wonder. Two more Disney ships will launch in 2011 and 2012. And while you won't find casinos on any Disney ships, you will find plenty of other facilities and diversions on board for every age group -- including grown-ups. That, along with the appeal of the Disney brand, has ensured the cruise line's success.
The wind picked up after we left the last trees behind and the narrow road stretched out over the misty, scrub-covered plateau toward the end of Europe.
If you prepare meticulously for the worst, the worst actually can be fun.
Like all of Europe, France has some changes in store for visitors in 2008 -- starting at the top. France's newly elected president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and recently appointed prime minister, Francois Fillon, appear to be America-friendly, so we can expect no more cries for Freedom Fries from people who don't get out much.
Southern Spain has many brilliant colors: a flash of red on a whirling flamenco dancer; the peachy pinks of tropical flowers on the walls of an Arabic-style courtyard. There's no more romantic way to see Andalusia than from behind the wheel of a car, discovering the secret gardens and hidden white villages as you go.
Stuffing yourself with food is popular fare for jokes on cruise ships, but it's serious business. I gained eight pounds during a seven-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera in November. My wife gained six.
Poinsettias carpet the carefully tended gardens of Oaxaca's arch-ringed main plaza, where smoking wreckage and barricades stood just over a year ago. Local bands and marimbas have replaced the sound of explosions, and the smell of gasoline bombs and tear gas have given way to the scent of coffee and mole sauce, two of Oaxaca's specialties.
Until now, a summer cottage three miles from the White House where Abraham Lincoln paced the floors, contemplating the end of slavery, was largely unknown to the public.
We don't know where to look first. The massive pillars, looking like tree trunks, stone chameleons, tortoises and turtles, help support the columns. The sheer size of the place is amazing. Some of the towers soar more than 500 feet. Even jaded teens, like my 13-year-old niece, Erica Fieldman, can't help but be impressed.
Yes, I admit this wasn't the first time I'd forgotten an important event. Let's not get hung up on that. What's important is that I quickly and admirably redeemed myself.
Paul Morrison and Chicago are a perfect match. To him, winter is supposed to be cold, and in Chicago it is.
Old Faithful spews thousands of gallons of steaming water right on schedule, but Miguel isn't the least bit interested. He just lumbers by us searching for lunch.
A dozen years ago, a roommate and I were wasting away another rainy winter night in Seattle when we decided to drive the pickup truck five hours north to Whistler. We left at 10 p.m., pulled into the lot near the lifts and spent a few fitful, freezing hours of semi-sleep in the cab until sunrise.
Going wild in Mexico doesn't have to mean a tequila-fueled beach vacation dancing on tabletops surrounded by carousing spring-breakers. In fact, the big party destination of Cancun is a short distance from lush parks hosting wildlife of another sort.
A cold, clear January morning. We have strapped on snowshoes and are tramping the trail that runs from Badger Pass to Dewey Point above Yosemite Valley. A dozen of us show up, snowshoe novices all.
Tourists in the know have begun flowing into Brazil to see preparations for the February 3-4 Carnival parade, but the real work has been in full swing for six months already, transforming Rio's humble shantytowns into riots of color and song.
When our daughter told us she couldn't come home for a visit because of her work schedule, we did what any doting parents of an only child would do: we went to her. No matter that she worked 2,300 miles away on a remote ranch in Western Montana that had just received 10 inches of snow.
It's a reunion 12 years in the making. Since hosting the 1996 Super Bowl, Phoenix and its suburbs have been preening and preparing for the return of the NFL's biggest game.
We're doing our best to keep the wine in our plastic cups on the ride to the Backcountry Hut. This takes some doing in our off-road limo: an old military ambulance lurching over the slopes on army-tank treads. Twenty minutes into the woods, our tank shudders to a stop in front of a rustic lodge glowing bright between heavy-limbed trees. Silence. We pause in the gathering snow, lit blue by an early moon. These frosted woods are ours tonight.
Jolly olde England and the Emerald Isle of Ireland continue to enchant and entice, even with the pound whomping the dollar nearly two to one. Here's what to expect if you visit in 2008.
Modern-day South Beach is still a vibrant monument to the Art Deco designs of the late 1920s and '30s.
Mary Blilie had been at Big Sky Resort in Montana for just one day but had already snapped more photos of her kids than she had in a long time.
Everyone knows Rio de Janeiro's carnival is supposed to be the greatest party on earth, but to many, the hordes of sweaty, scantily clad bodies on display can be as intimidating as they are inviting.
Bella Italia, my favorite country in Europe, is a wonderful work in progress. Here's a look at what to expect in 2008.
Bill Royall chose the University of Denver so he could take the winter quarters off from school and hit the slopes.
Baby, it's cold outside. Luckily, Travel + Leisure has the cure. From New York to Seattle, T+L rounded up 10 of the country's coziest spas and their most inviting treatments.
Mardi Gras celebrations in places like New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, are well-known. But a Missouri village with French roots has its own pre-Lenten party -- a traditional ball that dates back more than 250 years.
Any American with even a slight familiarity with Paris knows about Josephine Baker, the black swivel-hipped cabaret entertainer who shunned racism in America, vaulted to stardom here in 1925, and stayed on to become one of France's most adored 20th century icons.
The Visoki Decani Monastery is nestled in a stunning canyon ringed by rugged mountains, but it's not the altitude that takes your breath away.
Dodging four men pushing a cart full of honeydew melons, I step out of the noisy traffic of Istanbul, pass through the horseshoe-arched door, and trade one commotion for another. Suddenly the air -- heated by millions of watts of electric bulbs -- is several degrees warmer. Like carnivorous flowers, merchants seduce from glittering shops. They say, "Welcome to the Grand Bazaar."
Barefoot on the sandy shore of Catalina Island, Kim Francis shades her eyes from the sun and peers back to mainland California. "I can't believe we're 22 miles from Los Angeles," she says, grinning. "I may never go back."
Hampton Mansion has plenty of historical and architectural significance. All it needs is a higher profile.
Harlem is the historic capital of black American culture, but like many New York neighborhoods, it is rapidly changing.
As December storms paint Bryce Canyon National Park with fresh snow, you won't find a more beautiful winter landscape anywhere in the world.
As alpine enthusiasts contemplate how they'll be breaking in their equipment this season, the managers at Alaska's only ski resort hope powder-lovers will bypass the classic slopes of Whistler, Deer Valley and Aspen and head to the far north.
Each summer, Europe greets a stampede of sightseers and shoppers with eager cash registers. Before jumping into the peak-season pig pile, consider the advantages of an off-season trip.
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