Destinations
30 destinations, first-timer vetted
Every guide covers history and culture, the sights that justify their crowds (and the ones that don't), food, where to stay, plus the booking rules, park reservations and safety realities that catch first-timers out.
Northeast
The classic first trip: walkable cities, colonial history, free museums
Northeast Boston
America's revolutionary hometown, walkable, brick-lined, and fiercely proud of both
Northeast New York City
The skyline you already know, and a city that keeps surprising at street level
Northeast Philadelphia
Where America declared independence, five minutes from the art and cheesesteaks
Northeast Washington, DC
The world's greatest collection of free museums, wrapped in a walkable monument park
South
Music, Creole cooking and beaches, at a slower pace
South Austin
A cool river town with the state's grandest dome and a million bats
South Charleston
Pastel rowhouses, tidal gardens, and the hardest history lessons in America
South Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Misty ridges, log cabins, and black bears in America's most-visited park
South Memphis
Where the blues grew up, Elvis lived large, and barbecue is a religion
South Miami
Tropical beach city with Cuban soul, street art, and a swamp full of alligators
South Nashville
Honky-tonks, the Grand Ole Opry, and the working studios of Music City
South New Orleans
Three centuries of jazz, creole cooking, and Caribbean street life below sea level
South Orlando
The theme park capital of the world, plus real lakes and rocket launches
South San Antonio
River Walk evenings, the Alamo, and the best breakfast tacos in Texas
South Savannah
Moss-draped squares, ghost stories, and America's most walkable old city
Midwest
Architecture, blues and the great lake city
Southwest
Desert landscapes, national parks and neon
Southwest Grand Canyon
A mile-deep canyon no photograph ever prepares you for
Southwest Las Vegas
Desert spectacle, casino palaces, and the best free show in America
Southwest Santa Fe
America's oldest, highest, and most adobe state capital
Southwest Zion National Park
A red-rock canyon you ride into by shuttle, wade through, and climb with chains
Mountain West
Geysers, bison and the world's first national park
Mountain West Denver
Mile High city with a red-rock amphitheater and the Rockies in its backyard
Mountain West Glacier National Park
A 50-mile alpine highway, turquoise lakes, and grizzlies under the Big Sky
Mountain West Salt Lake City
A mountain-framed capital with the West's grandest square and five parks at arm's reach
Mountain West Yellowstone
The world's first national park, still America's wildest show
California
The Pacific coast, film country and the bridge everyone knows
California Los Angeles
Beaches, mountains, and the movies in one giant, sunlit basin
California San Diego
Mild beaches, a legendary zoo, and a century of naval history on one bay
California San Francisco
Fog, hills, and a bridge the whole world recognizes
California Yosemite
Granite walls, falling water, and the Sierra's greatest theater
Pacific Northwest
Coffee, cedar and snowcapped volcanoes
Hawaii
Beaches, volcanoes and Pearl Harbor history
