The American East Coast

America's most walkable big-city history lesson, the Freedom Trail's red brick line connects the sites of the Revolution in a couple of unhurried hours, from the Old North Church to the USS Constitution still afloat in the harbor. Boston Harbor's islands, a short ferry from downtown, hold surprisingly rich colonies of nesting seabirds for a major East Coast city. A round of golf at one of the region's historic clubs and a plate of the city's famous chowder round out a stop as dense with things to do as it is with history.

A whimsical cluster of gingerbread cottages, painted in every color imaginable, rings the campground where 19th-century Methodist revivals once drew thousands each summer, now one of the most photographed streets in New England. The Flying Horses Carousel nearby, running since 1876, is the oldest continuously operating carousel in the country. Beaches, a round of golf and some of the island's best seafood shacks round out a stop that feels, deliberately, like summer frozen in time.

America's Gilded Age built its grandest stage sets here, the Cliff Walk threads between the Atlantic and a run of Vanderbilt and Astor mansions so ostentatious they were called cottages by the families who built them. Newport's sailing pedigree runs just as deep, home to the America's Cup for more than half a century, while a handful of Rhode Island vineyards have quietly built a following well beyond the state. Beaches, birdlife along Ocean Drive and a seriously good raw bar round out one of New England's most storied small cities.

The city needs no real introduction, but a harbor arrival still delivers one of the great skyline views anywhere on earth, the Statue of Liberty and the downtown towers rising together as the ship comes in. Central Park's Ramble is, improbably, one of the best urban birding spots in North America during spring migration, while the city's wellness scene, from rooftop spas to serious longevity clinics, has become as talked-about as its restaurants. A round of golf at one of the metro area's historic courses and a dinner at virtually any table you can name round out a city that still, somehow, exceeds the hype.

The birthplace of American independence keeps the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall exactly where the founders left them, a short walk from a food scene that has quietly become one of the country's most exciting. The Philadelphia Museum of Art's steps are, inevitably, a Rocky pilgrimage for almost everyone who climbs them, while Pennsylvania's small but serious wine country lies a scenic drive beyond the city. Egrets and herons work the wetlands along the Delaware, and a genuinely great cheesesteak rounds out a city with far more to it than its most famous export.

A canal first proposed in the 1760s and finally completed in 1829 still shortens the run between the Chesapeake and Delaware bays by hundreds of miles, sparing ships the long and often rough passage around the Delmarva Peninsula. Marshland and quiet waterside towns line much of the route, largely unchanged since the canal's earliest days. A short, historic shortcut linking two of the Mid-Atlantic's great estuaries.

The sailing capital of America gathers around the US Naval Academy's waterfront campus and a handsome colonial State House, the oldest state capitol still in legislative use in the country. Chesapeake Bay blue crab, picked from the shell at a checkered-paper table, is close to a civic religion here, while ospreys and herons work the bay's marshy tributaries in serious numbers. A handful of Maryland's emerging wineries lie a short drive inland. A small, historic town built entirely around the water.

Home to the largest naval base in the world, Norfolk's harbor still moves to the rhythm of the US Atlantic Fleet, a history and a present the excellent Nauticus museum explains in full. The Chrysler Museum of Art holds a genuinely world-class glass collection, a surprise for a navy town, while the Great Dismal Swamp nearby shelters black bears and some of the richest birdlife in coastal Virginia. Beaches and golf courses along the water round out a city defined, quite literally, by its harbor.

North Carolina's third-oldest town keeps a genuinely well-preserved colonial waterfront, and just offshore, wild horses still roam the dunes of Shackleford Banks, descendants, local lore holds, of shipwrecked Spanish mustangs. Blackbeard met his end in these waters in 1718, a history the town's maritime museum tells with real relish, while shorebirds crowd the barrier island beaches nearby. A quieter, history-rich alternative to the Outer Banks further north.

The Lowcountry's grand old lady keeps her cobbled streets and pastel Rainbow Row houses immaculately preserved, a horse-drawn carriage tour past wrought-iron gates and walled gardens is still the classic introduction. Nearby plantations tell a fuller, harder history alongside their architecture and gardens, while championship golf at Kiawah Island and a shrimp-and-grits dining scene now ranked among the country's best round out the visit. Egrets and herons work the surrounding marsh in serious numbers. Genteel on the surface, and increasingly honest about what lies beneath it.

Georgia's oldest city lays itself out around more than twenty live-oak squares, Spanish moss draped overhead, a design that has barely changed since James Oglethorpe founded it in 1733. Bonaventure Cemetery's marble angels and moss-hung avenues, made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, remain one of the South's most atmospheric walks, while Tybee Island's beaches lie a short drive from downtown. A round of golf, a properly slow-cooked Lowcountry dinner and some of the best birding on the Georgia coast round out one of the South's most beautiful cities.

Florida's largest city by area follows the St Johns River for miles of Riverwalk, restaurants and parks, a genuinely underrated stretch of urban waterfront. The Timucuan Preserve protects one of the largest remaining stands of undisturbed coastal marsh in the state, rich with wading birds, while Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park's beach is one of the best and least crowded stretches of sand on the First Coast. A city that rewards visitors willing to look past the interstate exits.

The gateway to Kennedy Space Center, where the launch pads that sent astronauts to the moon still stand a short drive from the pier, ready for a genuinely goosebump-inducing tour. Manatees gather in the warm water canals nearby through the cooler months, while Cocoa Beach's famously consistent surf lies just south. A round of golf on the Space Coast's flat, sunny courses rounds out a stop built as much around the future as the beach.

The Bahamian capital buzzes with colour, pastel colonial buildings, the bustling Straw Market and forts that once guarded against pirates. SeaDream berths in the heart of Nassau yet keeps you clear of the mega-ship throng, so you can slip away to a quiet cove, dive a coral garden with the marina's gear, or sip a rum punch on a powder-soft beach. Climb the Queen's Staircase, sample fresh conch at Arawak Cay, then return aboard as the harbour lights shimmer.