Mobile, Alabama

Four antebellum homes and the historic buildings on Dauphin Street are part of this Alabama city's 300-year legacy and Gulf Coast charm. Fort Conde, which also serves as the visitors center, is a reconstructed 18th-century fort where guides dressed in period costume lead tours, fire muskets and cannons, and re-create Mobile's early days. The West Africans who were transported to Mobile in the last cargo of slaves to land on U.S. soil created a vibrant community now known as AfricaTown, an important cultural gem. Other places of interest include the aquarium on Dauphin Island, Fort Gaines, the USS Alabama and the Bellingrath Home and Gardens.