Travel

Many people say "I'm not the Vegas type," or "I just don't like Las Vegas." I used to be one of these travelers, particularly...

When Virgin Galactic makes history with its first commercial suborbital manned flights, the lucky million- and billionaires will be slipping the surly bonds of earth above New Mexico’s Spaceport America. (Still a few kinks to work out, though.) In the meantime, “the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport” is open to the public. Visitors tour Spaceport grounds in “rolling multi-media theater shuttles,” those who are willing can experience the G-Shock Simulator, and all are welcome at the gift shop.

Live like locals in the neighborhoods that give the city its charm.

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Santa Fe—locus of adobe architecture, turquoise jewelry, and yoga retreats—also is an oasis for canvas gazers. Two hundred galleries are packed into 2 square miles, ensconced among the desert architecture and landscapes that inspired much of the art in the first place. Writer Valli Herman is your guide, and tells you where to enjoy elk tenderloin, as well as soaking tubs, and pinyon wood fires.

It’s getting more difficult to “Keep Portland Weird”—the city’s motto—but there are still plenty of offbeat places awaiting your arrival.

This is Europe, but not blockbuster Europe: There is nothing like the Coliseum in Leiden, nor is there a Versailles. But really, who cares? You’ll be sitting in a serene biergarten alongside one of the meandering, tree-lined canals, Vermeer’s pale, watery sunlight filtering through the branches.