The only walled city in North America and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Quebec City has a distinct French flavor and is blessed with a spectacular location on a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence River. Dominating the skyline is the splendid hotel Chateau Frontenac, a romantic sight with its steep-pitched roofs and French-style turrets. Quebec City is an explorer's delight with cobblestoned streets, 17th and 18th-century buildings, an immense star-shaped fortress and a funicular that you can ride between the upper and lower towns. Visit the Petit Champlain quarter, the oldest part, the Place des Armes and Plains of Abraham-all with a genteel, European character.

Ascend the hillside streets to the Citadel, a star-shaped fort built in 1749, where the traditional Noon Gun recalls the British garrison. Visit the restored wharves of Historic Properties, now filled with shops, and Halifax Public Gardens, the oldest formal Victorian gardens in North America. Or drive out along the Lighthouse Route to the rustic fishing village of Peggy's Cove, for postcard-perfect Nova Scotian scenery: lobster pots, fishing boats, and a shining Atlantic seascape just offshore.

Drawn by the pines, granite shores, fresh lobster and stunning views from Cadillac Mountain, captains of industry once kept summer homes here. The charming little town, and all the rest, remain. And the rocky boulder beaches on its shoreline are now Acadia National Park, a preserved expanse of vintage Down East scenery.

The history and brick-laid beauty of Boston is easy to enjoy. Just follow the Freedom Trail past the Old North Church, Paul Revere Park, Fanieul Hall, the Commons, Old Ironsides and more landmarks of America's birth. Across the Charles River is Cambridge and Harvard. You can also venture to Marblehead and Salem to the south, or Lexington and Concord to the north. Back in town, you have your choice of clam chowder at the wharf, or great Italian food in the North End.

A posh summer resort with a vivid history dating back to colonial times, Newport is home to fabulous summer "cottages" of the turn-of-the-century wealthy. You can tour the "Breakers," a 70-room estate surrounded by magnificent grounds and pounding surf or "Marble House," patterned after Versailles, or "Belcourt Castle," a 62-room mansion resplendent with treasures from 32 countries. Other fascinating historic sites include the beautifully preserved Trinity Church, with its Tiffany windows, and the Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, the oldest synagogue in America. Once home to the America's Cup Races, there are, of course, yachts, and a quaint town to wander.

This vibrant city is actually a rich mosaic of many "neighborhoods." Feel the excitement of Broadway with its great plays and musicals. Explore the financial district-Wall Street and there''s Soho with its galleries, famed Greenwich Village, Midtown, with its glamorous department stores and soaring architecture, and museums everywhere. It truly is a wonderful town!