Travel insights and tips on some of the top attractions and best cities in the world

Williamsburg, a popular eastern Brooklyn neighborhood of about 125,000 inhabitants, used to be a place visitors would avoid. Now it’s an icon of hipster culture, with lots of fun shops, bars, music venues and terrific people watching. It’s almost along the lines of when tour buses would drive through San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury to gape at the hippies when I was a kid. Instead, here you sit at a sidewalk cafe, sip an espresso and enjoy the show. Definitely bring your camera.

Yes, pools still exist, but children today occupy a whole new world of water play. Known variously as splash parks, spray parks, splash pads, water playgrounds or even “spraygrounds,” these water play areas are popping up everywhere. Here are a few in some favorite cities.

I grew up in New England, and some of my best childhood memories are from summer vacations by the shore. While I’ll never get those precious sun-drenched childhood days back (don't we all wish we could!), I can help my own kids create seashore memories like these on a day trip or camping trip to the Boston Harbor Islands.

Edgy. Alternative. Hippy. Avant-garde. Grungy. Eclectic. Indie. Funky. If that sounds like your idea of a fun place, plan to spend a day in Atlanta’s Little Five Points. (And if your tastes are firmly rooted in the conventional, consider a visit to the Botanical Gardens instead.)

Guess just what type of “guests” are checking in—and not checking out—of one of Chicago’s most prestigious places, also known the most haunted hotel on Michigan Avenue, and maybe even the most haunted space in all of the Windy City? Ghosts, that's who.

While I’ve made many trips to New York City, and relish it each and every time, I admit that my comfort level still soars when I have a friend show me about. Not only do they steer me to the most interesting restaurants, taverns and galleries in ethnic neighborhoods, they know the subway system. It makes for a much richer and less-stressful experience.