New Orleans vs Utah Mighty 5

New Orleans moves to its own rhythm, and three days is enough to feel it. Start in the French Quarter, where wrought-iron balconies hang over Royal Street, street musicians play outside St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square, and a plate of powdered-sugar beignets at Café Du Monde is a rite of passage. By night, skip the Bourbon Street crowds and head to Frenchmen Street in the Marigny, where small clubs host brass bands, trad jazz and funk for little or no cover. Ride the green St. Charles streetcar under live oaks to the Garden District, a neighborhood of antebellum mansions and shady sidewalks, then browse Magazine Street. Save an evening for a long Creole or Cajun dinner of gumbo, shrimp and grits, crawfish etouffee or redfish, and a morning for the French Market. With more time, spend a full day at the National WWII Museum, glide through cypress swamps on a boat tour, visit Whitney Plantation for an honest look at the lives of enslaved people, and explore the murals of the Bywater and the oaks of City Park. Come in spring or fall for the best weather, and pace yourself: in this city, lingering over lunch is the plan.

Utah's Mighty 5 is the classic Southwest road trip: five national parks strung across roughly 400 miles of red-rock desert, each completely different from the last. Start in Zion, where the Virgin River has carved a sheer sandstone canyon you explore by shuttle, then climb to Bryce Canyon's amphitheaters of orange hoodoos at more than 8,000 feet. Scenic Byway 12, one of the most beautiful drives in the country, carries you to Capitol Reef, a quieter park of cliffs, petroglyphs and pioneer orchards near the small town of Torrey. The trip ends in Moab, base for Arches and its 2,000-plus stone arches and for Canyonlands, where the Island in the Sky mesa looks down on the Colorado and Green rivers. Most travelers fly into Las Vegas or Salt Lake City, rent a car and spend about a week, sleeping in Springdale, Bryce or Tropic, Torrey and Moab. Plan ahead: Arches uses a timed-entry system in its busy season, Angels Landing needs a permit, and summer afternoons regularly top 100°F (38°C), so early starts, plenty of water and spring or fall dates make the biggest difference.