Newport, Rhode Island

Why: Spring is ideal for exploring Newport’s mansions. The “Gilded Age experience” (adults $31, children $10) offers daily tours of five seaside estates, including The Breakers (the Vanderbilts’ grand “summer cottage”) and Rosecliff, where The Great Gatsby was filmed.

How: It’s a two-and-a-half-hour nonstop flight to Providence on NWA; tickets were less than $300 at presstime. Newport is a half-hour drive south.

Stay: Perched on a forty-acre hillside peninsula, Castle Hill Inn and Resort (888-466-1355) is a regular on Newport best lists. The gabled mansion has rooms and suites priced from $230 to $1,500 and Adirondack chairs line the oceanfront property’s edge.

Eat: A location on the wharf near all the shops and galleries makes The Black Pearl (401-846-5264) a favorite of locals, visitors, and celebs. The indoor/outdoor tavern offers sandwiches, seafood, and famous clam chowder.

Pack: Bring sneakers or flats—heels get tricky with the cobblestone roads.

P.S.: Stroll the coastal Cliff Walk and get a glimpse of the mansions’ manicured lawns.