Set on two mighty rivers and hemmed in by very steep hills, France’s second city is a place of broad vistas and flowing water, with homes, shops, and churches scattered across islands and climbing sharp slopes. Undeniably pretty, the history here is nonetheless gritty. Stepping onto a funicular dating back to 1891, I was spirited…

The Mississippi flows south along the edge of Memphis, but musicians traveled north out of the Mississippi Delta and the South, arriving there in the 20th century. The birthplace of rock ‘n’ soul and the careers of such legends as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King, Memphis has always been a music lover’s mecca….

Anyone who has been there will tell you: Prague feels like a fairy tale. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first visit or your 20th, when you walk into Old Town Square just after dark, you will draw a breath. Your head will tip up, admiring the monuments and spires: the soaring gothic towers of…

Visitors to North Carolina stroll by a centuries-old Native American site, then relive a taste of life in rural Appalachia from the early 1900s. Farther north, a center of attention is a stone that was placed during the mapping of the Mason-Dixon Line, which delineated the boundary between three British Colonies in America. The site…

The scale of these gardens was so sweeping that when I climbed the final step to the top of the belvedere, I drew a breath. The size, yes, but also the remarkable attention to detail. Hemmed in on all sides—by a storybook village, a 12th-century church, a forest, and its namesake château, the gardens at…

I’m soaring over the treetops, and dogs are coming out on backyard patios to growl up at the fiery roar of a dragon passing overhead. In between blasts of flame, it’s eerily silent, other than those occasional barks. Drifting like a dandelion seed on the wind, we alight briefly on a sandbar in the middle…

It was during the dark days of World War II that a San Diego entrepreneur and former car dealer named Larry Imig decided to risk $2 million on the construction of a glamorous new hotel he would christen Imig Manor. He had a vision that when the war was over, the Golden Age of Hollywood,…

To really understand the American experience one needs some knowledge of British history until the time of independence. And there is no better way to learn about the shared Anglo-American history than through firsthand experiences. That is especially true now that so much of this history has fallen victim to the woke iconoclasts—assuming it was…

You’re vacationing in San Diego. You’ve had a close encounter with wildlife from every continent at the zoo. You’ve strolled the waterfront and admired the clipper ship Star of India and the massive aircraft carrier Midway. You’ve shopped at Horton Plaza and supped in the Gaslamp Quarter. What now? Explore North Park. This historic neighborhood—a…

The Old World charm and historically French culture of Quebec City have long captivated visitors. During the Christmas season, it feels even more special. That’s because the picturesque snow-covered streetscape creates a magical atmosphere reminiscent of something from a storybook. Christmas Market That was certainly my experience when I visited at the end of November…