36 Hours

Stargaze from desert observatories, try traditional Sonoran spirits and hit the local trails in Arizona’s mountain-ringed second city.

By Abbie Kozolchyk

This Southern hub of creativity, nightlife and civil rights history is showing it has an outdoorsy side too, with the Beltline, a popular biking and walking path.

By Richard Fausset

As beautiful as ever, this glittering bayside city is expanding its public spaces and arts institutions.

By Freda Moon

Dine in rustic restaurants, ride a funicular for panoramic views and hunt for treasures at a sprawling flea market in France’s third-largest city.

By Seth Sherwood

Walk among sandstone towers, experience some of the darkest skies in North America and breathe in the solitude.

By Amanda Heidt

Get swept up in the boundless energy of the 1,000-year-old Vietnamese capital.

By Chris Humphrey

Take a road trip across this mountainous region of western Massachusetts, popping into breweries, art galleries and pizzerias, as its landscape erupts in autumnal glory.

By Lauren Matison

Fall is the ideal time to explore the ruggedly beautiful Scottish capital, which turns 900 this year.

By Graeme Virtue

Spend a weekend sampling I.P.A.s and cider doughnuts, touring an enchanted sugar forest and relaxing in an Adirondack chair in this quaint city at the foot of Mount Mansfield.

By Kristina Samulewski

Admire art in a 17th-century castle, steam in a seaside bathhouse and unwind with an afternoon fika (coffee-and-cake break) in this diverse Swedish city.

By Lisa Abend