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Check out the midwest, and get great dining, fun and adventure--a unique experience without the passport.

Nashville

Whether you're a little bit country or more rock and roll, you'll find plenty to do in Nashville . This country-music center boasts great nightlife and tunes, way beyond just the kind played by Garth and Dolly. Located in the heart of Tennessee's rolling hills, the city also offers a wealth of outdoor fun that you can enjoy with or without cowboy boots.

Go Play

At the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, you'll learn all about this truly American art form, as well as the culture and times that shaped it. You'll see some interesting celebrity memorabilia, including plenty of Hatch show prints and Elvis" custom-made white Cadillac, which he had outfitted with gun holsters. At the end of your tour, you'll wind up in a room full of listening stations where you can hear some of the different country artists who are popular today. For more information call 800-852-6437 or visit countrymusichalloffame.com.

Good Eats

After all the fried chicken and ham-and-biscuits you'll eat while you're in town, it'll be nice to sit down to a more refined meal. Dine by the stone fireplace at Arthur"s, which serves some of Nashville's finest food in a setting to match. Chandeliers, wood paneling and stained-glass windows set the mood for sumptuous dishes like Blue Snapper and rack of lamb. For more information call 615-255-1494 or visit arthursrestaurant.com.

Party Hearty

A country-music megaplex, Nashville's famous Wildhorse Saloon offers top country acts, and a dance floor on which you can two-step the night away. Best of all, dance lessons are offered every night of the week, for both experts and beginners. Cowboy hats and boots are optional. For more information call 615-902-8200 or visit wildhorsesaloon.com.

Sleep Tight

After a recent multimillion-dollar restoration, The Hermitage is even grander than before. This 1910 beaux arts-style hotel is an architectural masterpiece, with Italian marble columns, intricate moldings and walnut wall panels. The 123 guest rooms are bigger than ever, and they have brand-new bathrooms. The hotel staff will draw you a bath and sprinkle the floor with rose petals, it's enough to convince you that Southern hospitality is alive and well. For more information visit thehermitagehotel. com.

- Steve Wilson

Chicago

With its beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline and top-notch restaurants and shopping, Chicago makes for a sophisticated getaway. Culture buffs will love its selection of museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, where a fabulous collection of Impressionist and contemporary paintings amazes and delights viewers.

Go Play

Shop hand in hand along Michigan Avenue's Magnificent Mile and be sure to hit some of the famous stores, such as Tiffany, Marshall Field's and Escada. Then, since the best way to really admire the skyline is from a distance, hop on Chicago 's First Lady Architecture Cruises' Architect Boat for a cruise along the river. You'll learn all about the city's architectural history (admissioncosts $25 per person; 847-358-1330; cruisechicago.com).

Good Eats

For a gourmet meal with a sense of humor, head to Tru. Order the surprisingly good white asparagus parfait(really!) and indulge in an upscale rendering of a root-beer float. At the end of the meal, order a sweet from the restaurant's famous dessert cart. Choose from the lollipops and handcrafted chocolates, and you'll feel like a smiling kid in a candy shop. For more information call 312-202-0001 or visit trurestaurant.com.

Party Hearty

At Le Colonial, you can experience three evenings in one. Start off upstairs at the French-Vietnamese restaurant, where you'll find a dark, sexy lounge and tasty cocktails. Then head down to the main level, where you can enjoy savory Asian appetizers, such as sugarcane-wrapped shrimp, in a Vietnamese-style room with rattan ceiling fans, mirrors and lots ofcandlelight. (A full dinner menu is also available.) When you're ready to dance, slip downstairs to Le Passage, a sexy club with sofas and a happening dance floor. For more information call 312-255-0088 or visit lecolonialchicago.com.

Sleep Tight

The staff at the contemporary, 339-room Peninsula Chicagomay cater to your every need, and the hotel itself may tower gracefully over the Magnificent Mile, but it's the attention to technological detail you won't soon forget. Here, the posh rooms have bedside consoles that allow you to control the radio, TV and air-conditioning,and even flip on your "Do Not Disturb" light, all without getting out of bed. Now that's a state-of-the-art way to spend an evening under the sheets. For more information call 866-288-8889 or visit peninsula.com. —Anne Louise Fritz

New Orleans

This lively city is known as America's good-time gal, but there's more to New Orleans than bacchanalian revelry. From the cuisine to the music, the locals' love of life seeps into every aspect of the culture here. There's no denying you'll have a great time, no matter what you choose to do in the Big Easy.

Go Play

This town is a food-lover's paradise.Enroll in a class together at the New Orleans School of Cooking, andget a leg up on those dinner parties you're planning to throw back at home. The classes last two hours and include instruction on three Louisiana specialties: crawfish étouffée, jambalaya and pralines. For more information call 504-525-2665 or visit nosoc.com.

Good Eats

After you've booked a table at a New Orleans institution or two (such as Galatoire's or Antoine's), head to Herb Saint, where locals go for elegant twists on Creole classics. Sophisticated Herb Saint (named after a devilish cocktail of anise-flavored liqueur and Angostura bitters) would seem at home in San Francisco or New York . But take one look at the menu and you'll know right where you are: Favorites include shrimp and green chili grit cakes,cornmeal-crusted oysters topped with hot sauce and chocolate beignet doughnuts. For more information call 504-524-4114 or visit herbsaint.com.

Party Hearty

If stands that serve frozen Hurricane cocktails to rowdy tourists and loud, crowded bars aren't what you had in mind for your honeymoon, don't despair. New Orleans 'reputation for round-the-clock partying is matched only by its cachet as a jazz mecca. Preservation Hall is the place to see both veterans and rising stars. Grab a seat in the adjacent courtyard and listen to the soulful sounds under the night sky. For more information call 504-522-2841 or visit preservationhall.com.

Sleep Tight

New Orleans has no dearth of inns, but choosing among such abundance can be overwhelming. Our favorite: The Claiborne Mansion,a Greek Revival beauty that's in the peaceful Faubourg-Marigny district, yet only four blocks from the ebullient French Quarter. Book Suite #11, a gigantic room with 14-foot ceilings, a baby grand piano, a crystal chandelier and two queen-size beds. Don't forget to take a late-night dip in the inn's 40-foot swimming pool—chances are you'll have it all to yourselves! For more information call 504-949-732 or visit claibornemansion.com. —N.S.

San Antonio

At the end of your visit to this laid-back city, you'll remember a lot more than the Alamo. During the day, visit Spanish colonial missions and19th-century Mexican-style plazas. Step back into the present at night by hitting Tex-Mex eateries, honky-tonk bars and Tejano clubs.

Go Play

Stroll or take a tour boat along the Paseo del Rio (a.k.a. the Riverwalk), and you'll pass cypress-lined paths and bridges, restaurants and shops. You won't be able to see it all in a day, especially in the summer, when the heat will drive you down the street to the air-conditioned buildings of El Mercado, the old Mexican market. It's the best place to grab a cool, fruit-filled aguafresca, listen to the mariachi music, shop for colorful folk art souvenirs and sample some Mexican-style baked goods.

Good Eats

Located in an airy loft space overlooking the Riverwalk, Biga on the Banks gives Southwestern American cuisine athoroughly modern makeover. Appetizers like salmon nachos make perfect lead-ins to culinary concoctions such as phyllo-wrapped cod with Serrano ham and mustard leeks. This place doesn't skimp on dessert creativity, either, and you can choose an after-dinner treat like Brûlée x 3, which merges chocolate, pecan and orange-and-cream flavored crème brûlées in one fantastic dish. For more information call 210-225-0722 or visit biga.com.

Party Hearty

After enough bottles of Lone Starbeer, a ride on the mechanical bull at Far West Rodeo won't seem so crazy. If you prefer to keep both feet on the ground, you can watch the real thing at the 3,680-person indoor stadium for pro rodeo demonstrations, or take in the multiple stages that host country and Tejano music acts. For more information call 210-646-9378.

Sleep Tight

The Riverwalk's most elegant hotel, La Mansión del Rio, offers a taste of Spanish colonial style. The 337 rooms are cozy, with exposed beams and brick walls, and some feature balconies overlooking the Riverwalk. The hacienda-style building has intricate archways and tile work, Mexican and Spanish antiques and wrought iron fixtures. As an added bonus, LaMansión's patrons have full access to the nearly 17,000-square-foot spaat its sister property, the Watermark Hotel and Spa, which is located just across a bridge. For more information call 800-292-7300 or visit lamansion.com. —S.W.