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FONTEVRAUD, France – For anyone watching the Tour de France bike race on television, the images of mountain pastures, village spires and monuments are often as good as the race itself.

FONTEVRAUD, France – For anyone watching the Tour de France bike race on television, the images of mountain pastures, village spires and monuments are often as good as the race itself.

So with all due respect to Lance Armstrong and his fellow slaves of the road, my wife and I decided to pack our kids in the car and make our own Tour de France — one that Armstrong can"t have.

For three weeks in high summer, we made a huge loop through France, from the east on down to Burgundy and beyond, south along the Rhone wine valley before crossing through the Midi, as southern France is called. Slowly we then made our way up the Atlantic side to our final destination in Fontevraud, among the opulent Loire castles of France"s kings.

We never missed the cities or traffic jams. We craved neither overpriced parking tickets, nor the surly city waiters serving meals where the only thing resembling a Michelin-starred restaurant is the bill.

Yet sidestepping places like Paris and Bordeaux robbed our trip of nothing French whatsoever — au contraire.

One evening, for example, we finished a four-course meal around the inner courtyard of the medieval Abbaye de Fontevraud priory-turned-hotel, then went for a midnight stroll. Outside, a light beckoned through an abbey door and we stepped inside. Suddenly we found ourselves among actors rehearsing a church play, and otherwise had the vast Romanesque treasure to ourselves. Soon we were roving around towering pillars and the tombs of Plantagenets Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Other days, we traveled pleasant tree-lined roads to hotels or farm rentals in the villages of Provence, and leisurely chose the best spot on a terrace to catch the evening sun with a cloudy pastis, rose, or Orangina in hand.

No Louvre museum here, but canoeing beneath the 160-foot-high Pont du Gard aqueduct, built by the Romans some 2,000 years ago, was at least as memorable as Mona Lisa"s smile.

We made our first major stop in Burgundy, home of the world"s best white wines. The priciest Chardonnays were well outside our range, but the Saint Veran and Maconnais whites made a welcome, affordable substitute. And winding from one village to the next through the vineyards was lovely.

You"ll find medieval art here too. But instead of crowds at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, in the village of Chapaize you"ll likely have the tiny 11th-century church all to yourself.

Near the religious center of Cluny is the medieval walled village of Brancion, with a castle tower and a 12th-century church. Park the car outside and walk centuries back in time along cobblestone streets without a single reminder of our hurried times.

From there we went south, crossing the border where butter turns to olive oil and steep roofs flatten, giving way to sun-parched, ochre tiles. Castillon-du-Gard was our base. Here, old men play petanque under the church spire, and the golden bows of the Pont du Gard can be seen on a clear evening.

Nearby, the 2,000-year-old amphitheater in Nimes, where bullfights are still held, and the Maison Carree, considered one of the best-preserved Roman temples anywhere, provide more evidence of the Roman Empire"s legacy across this part of Europe.

Roman ruins can also be seen in St. Remy de Provence, a day trip away, but St. Remy is perhaps best-known as the place where Vincent van Gogh painted "Starry Night" and other masterpieces during a stay at the village hospital.

The picture-pretty town of Minerve with its stone houses and narrow alleys is part of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France," a group of the country"s most picturesque villages. But the castle ruins and turrets that mark the landscape of this Midi Languedoc region also tell a terrible tale from the layers of history here — a crusade by the Catholic church against a sect called the Cathars, some 800 years ago, that resulted in repeated massacres and butchery.

Farther west, in Gascony and the Perigord, the Hundred Years" War with England was fought. The tiny "bastides" — fortified villages huddled around their gabled central squares — show it was good to be close and protected.

This is also the part of France soaked in duck fat, where fields of yellow sunflowers are as rich in color as the dishes are in calories. No better way to visit than to rent a farmhouse and travel from one morning market to the next, procuring fresh goose liver, breast of fowl, sweet Lectoure melons and golden chasselas de Moissac grapes.

Just about any traveler can become a passable cook with ingredients like those. And a good home cook can easily produce a feast every day.

Also running through the area are the abbeys and churches on the roads to Compostela, the cathedral in Spain beyond the Pyrenees that was a destination for medieval (and some modern) pilgrims.

By the time we made our way north again to Fontevraud, we were steeped in the history, food and scenery of the French countryside.

And yet one could keep going — to the beaches of Normandy, Monet"s Giverny gardens, the wild coasts of Brittany or the sparkling Champagne region.

It could be the start of a whole new Tour de France. No wonder Lance Armstrong keeps coming back.

Are you trying to figure out how to afford a vacation this summer? Or maybe you have your heart set on visiting Cancun for Christmas.

Are you trying to figure out how to afford a vacation this summer? Or maybe you have your heart set on visiting Cancun for Christmas.

Either way, financial management website can help you calculate how many lattes you would have to skip to pay for a plane ticket, resort or any other expenses for your dream trip.

Since 2007, Mint has been helping spenders big and small set goals for their personal and household needs. In June, it launched a new tool to help travelers set a vacation goal and then save for it.

First, travelers establish how much they think their trip will cost. Mint"s founder, Aaron Patzer, recommends using sites like or to estimate airfare, hotels, and daily spending.

Then turn to Mint for detailed budgeting assistance. On Mint, you can download your personal financial information, right from your accounts, to get a reading on exactly where you stand after paying your monthly bills and putting aside savings for things like college funds or retirement.

The new tool, Mint Goals, helps Mint users figure out how much they need to save every month to make their vacation goal by the travel deadline. Or, you tell Mint how much you can save each month, and Mint lets you know when you can reasonably expect to be on that plane headed for the Caribbean.

Mint works with travel sites like and to provide travelers with planning tips and resources, and supplies other handy tips. Flying on Tuesday or Wednesday tends to be cheapest; if you get a travel rewards credit card it can help pay for the cost of the flight.

And it shows users how to cut back in other areas, such as dry cleaning or restaurant bills, to make the trip happen faster.

"It shows you where you are spending your money," said Patzer. "Maybe you spend 25 percent of your money on rent, and however much on clothes and coffee. Going out to lunch every day at work? Maybe I can do that only two days a week."

Mint sends its users a progress report about once a month to keep them from drifting back to those costly lunches.

"It"s like the elementary school fundraiser," said Patzer. "You can see if you"re ahead or behind on your goal. If maybe it"s a couple years out, and you forget to save, this gives you that discipline."

Travel is just one of eight common goals Mint has identified by surveying its users about their savings. Others include saving for college, remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, retiring by a certain age, and setting up an emergency fund.

Mint is free; the site makes its money from the referral fees paid by banks if the website"s users open new accounts.

Once you have analyzed your spending at home, and your vacation costs, you might find out you can afford two weeks in Tahiti, not just one. Or that you have enough money left over to eat those restaurant lunches after all.

"Simply breaking it down into its components does make it easier to estimate," said Patzer.

Combine Facebook, Twitter, geocaching and a Lonely Planet guidebook, and what do you get?

Combine Facebook, Twitter, geocaching and a Lonely Planet guidebook, and what do you get?

Gowalla.

This location-based, social networking tool is part game, part travel companion. Download the free app to your phone or iPad, register for an account and then "check in" at various spots around the globe.

But that"s the basic, 10-second description of the app — in reality, there"s a lot more to this well-designed site.

There are several ways travelers can use Gowalla:

_Go on a trip. Gowalla staff and users have created different, themed trips to follow. For instance, there"s an Art Deco tour of Miami, a pub crawl trip in London, and one trip called the "Austin Stairs of Doom," which takes urban hikers up and down the city"s interesting staircases. As you take the loosely guided tours, be sure to "check in" to the location and add your impressions, reviews or photos.

_Check out the spots. Gowalla works with your mobile device"s GPS coordinates, so when you log in, the app will list what"s nearby. This is especially handy if you are just arriving at your destination and need food, fast. You can also see when previous Gowalla travelers visited a location, and what they had to say about it. One of the most popular locations in my city of St. Petersburg, Fla. — Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team — had an update from a user as I wrote this story: "Upgraded from upper deck to just behind Padres bullpen." Good to know.

_Check in for real rewards. When you check in to a spot, you might win a prize or receive a discount on a service. For instance, 500 folks who check into any Best Buy or Apple store starting June 17 have a chance to win a 4GB wireless memory card free. To find out about offers like this, read Gowalla"s blog: .

_Check in for virtual rewards. People who check in and complete a trip receive "pins" or small icons to be displayed on their Gowalla passport page. People who use the phrase "World Cup" in their Twitter or Facebook comments will receive a soccer pin, and those who are in South Africa will receive special stamps in their Gowalla "passports."

_Become "friends" with some of Gowalla"s partners. USA Today, The Washington Post, National Geographic and the Sierra Club have teamed up with Gowalla and all feature various trips around the country to follow. Follow USA Today for instance, and for the rest of the summer, those who check-in on Gowalla at major airports across the country will receive the newspaper"s travel advice, such as the quickest way to get through security, dining and shopping options, real-time flight information and more.

_Be part of the news. Gowalla"s creators in Austin, Texas, often share news-related information. Gowalla travelers who checked in from any "Park or Nature" category recently received a "Help the Gulf" pin to raise awareness of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Sierra Club also catalogued a "BP Oil Disaster" list of sites, which included places affected by the gushing oil. Photos taken by Sierra Club members and other Gowalla travelers are included in the listings, creating sort of a citizen journalist feel.

There are also other fun touches to the app, which can be set in six different languages on the iPhone (English, German, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Arabic).

After I joined and played with the site on my iPad, I noticed that I had a virtual teddy bear in my virtual backpack. It turns out that by checking in at my local Starbucks, I received a teddy bear icon that had been "dropped" in that location.

You can also invite friends to join you on Gowalla from Facebook and Twitter, which improves your chances of people commenting on your posts — in my area in Florida, there"s not much interaction between Gowalla users, but I can see how in larger cities this could be an interesting way to meet, or compete, with others, similar to Foursquare, another location-based social networking app.

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Want to save money when you travel? Sure, you can look for cheap airfares, budget hotels and discount car rentals. But here"s a simple change that can save you big bucks over the long haul: Stop paying ATM service fees.

Want to save money when you travel? Sure, you can look for cheap airfares, budget hotels and discount car rentals. But here"s a simple change that can save you big bucks over the long haul: Stop paying ATM service fees.

After all, why should you pay a few dollars to withdraw money from a machine just because your bank doesn"t have a branch nearby?

Fortunately a handful of apps can help you locate ATMs that won"t charge you fees.

I tried two on my iPhone, and both were free. So it costs you nothing to save some dough on the road or even in your hometown.

The first app I tried is from Allpoint. It"s a network of about 37,000 ATM locations around the world. A few thousand are in the United Kingdom and the rest are in the U.S.

The ATMs are usually in drug stores, retail outlets and the like. The network charges you zero to withdraw money — though your own bank might charge you something for using an out-of-network ATM.

The app is easy to use. You can search from your current location or by address. It shows nearby Allpoint locations on a map or in list form with distance noted. I used it awhile back to find an ATM close to work. It turned out that machine was even closer than the bank I"d used occasionally at $3 a pop.

Allpoint"s app works seamlessly with the iPhone"s map function to give directions to whichever location you choose. The network also offers apps for BlackBerry and Android smart phones.

I also tried CO-OP Network"s app. It bills itself as the largest credit union-only ATM network in the country. For those with credit union accounts, the app serves much the same function as Allpoint.

It has fewer locations than the first app. And it was a bit slower on my iPhone. There were fewer locations as well. The credit union app offers a link to the location"s website and shows it on a map or in list form. But it didn"t offer step-by-step directions like the Allpoint app.

But either one can save some serious money over time. Consider that a $3 surcharge to withdraw $20 is like paying a 15 percent fee to withdraw your money.

MILAN, Italy – Opera is as fundamental to Italy"s soul as the Colosseum, Michelangelo or pasta. To attend an opera performance here in the summer is a quintessential Italian experience — especially if you"re willing to brave the often-byzantine process for getting last-minute but astonishingly cheap tickets.

MILAN, Italy – Opera is as fundamental to Italy"s soul as the Colosseum, Michelangelo or pasta. To attend an opera performance here in the summer is a quintessential Italian experience — especially if you"re willing to brave the often-byzantine process for getting last-minute but astonishingly cheap tickets.

"I don"t understand a word of Italian, but I had to be here for the experience," Dr. Ravindran Kanesvaran, a young oncologist from Singapore, confessed in a whisper as we waited in La Scala, Italy"s most famous opera house, for the crimson curtain to open on "Aida."

Top tickets for the season-opener at La Scala in Milan go for about $2,400 (2,000 euros), but the last-minute seats Kanesvaran and I got for a midseason sold-out performance cost just $15 (12 euros).

The basic concept of opera — putting dramatic presentations to music — is universal, but the modern version was created at the end of the 16th century for Italian aristocracy. Largely thanks to late tenor and native son Luciano Pavarotti, it has become part of pop culture here.

Teatro alla Scala, the theater"s official full name, was one of three iconic venues I hit last summer. It"s the must-do for acoustics and prestige. The other two are notable in part for their settings: Arena di Verona, an almost-intact Roman amphitheater in Verona; and Torre del Lago Puccini, where another open-air theater sits on the bank of a marshy lake in Tuscany. It"s next to the place where Giacomo Puccini composed many of his most famous operas.

From champagne flutes in gilded halls to a panini picnic on 1,900-year-old steps, the three evenings couldn"t have been more different. Here are some details, along with a word of caution: Some shows have been canceled this year due to wildcat strikes over new government regulations.

TEATRO ALLA SCALA: Never mind that I was perched high above the swirls of gilded flowers and red velvet draperies, above four tiers of regal boxes and nearly up against the rosette-covered ivory ceiling. The firefighter on duty at the top gallery row inside this fantastically opulent 1770s theater approved of my choice of seat.

Top critics, he said, like to be in the gallery so no abundance of visual flourish could distract them from the sublime listening. No serious opera connoisseur myself, I found it hard not to be absorbed by Franco Zeffirelli"s lavish staging of Giuseppe Verdi"s "Aida."

Premiered in 1871 in Cairo, and next year at La Scala, the opera tells a tragic tale of love and pharaonic intrigue in ancient Egypt. The grandest of grand operas, its staging that July night was a profusion of massive choruses against gigantic hieroglyphs.

Then Radames, the hero captain of the Egyptian guards who spurns his king"s daughter to love her slave, Aida, with devastating consequences for all, sang out the most celebrated solo aria, "Celeste Aida."

And I realized the firefighter was right. Eyes shut, I let myself be transported by this most poignantly lyrical political tirade masquerading as love song. After all, the paeans for lost motherlands sung by Radames and other Verdi characters are but thinly veiled, urgent calls to arms.

That was clear to Italians as well as to their foreign occupiers 150 years ago. In the 19th century, revolts rocked Italy until unification. Verdi, composing operas filled with appeals to freedom and cries against tyrants, literally became the voice of the patriotic Risorgimento movement.

He was so revered as a founding father of modern Italy that when he lay dying in his suite, steps from La Scala, the streets were covered in straw so no noise would disturb the maestro.

Listening to Verdi"s music at La Scala is an immersion not only in art but history, and well worth the day I spent getting a rush ticket.

But the procedure was tortuous: Around 11:30 a.m., I got in line outside the theater so that my name would be among the 140 taken down by volunteers at the roll-call beginning at 1 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., I got in line again to be given a number, with which I queued one last time to get the ticket that would finally grant me entry that evening. But it only cost a fraction of the front-row $300 tickets.

ARENA DI VERONA: If "Aida" is the grandest of Italian operas, its most stunning staging is at Verona"s Arena, a first-century Roman amphitheater that has hosted theater performances since the early 1700s.

In the warm July dusk, I sat on the top row of giant limestone steps, as the sunset cast a salmon-pink glow over the city"s medieval bell-towers and vine-covered hills, while strings opened the first notes.

In the 19,000-seat open-air arena, it"s hard to distinctly make out the lyrics, but no setting can better display Verdi"s dramatic monumentality. And Verdi"s popular appeal is nowhere more apparent than in the contrast between the informal feel of the audience sharing jugs of wine and sandwiches on the steps and the over-the-top staging.

The first massive, full-orchestra chorus invoking war against Egypt"s Ethiopian invaders was so thrillingly powerful that even the director jumped up and down. In "Celeste Aida," the tenor"s lone voice miraculously filled the entire arena as the city disappeared in the darkness.

But the Arena experience is truly unsurpassable in "Aida""s most famous moment, the triumphal march celebrating Radames" victorious return.

As trumpeters rang out deceptively simple notes, guards carrying torches filed down and lined up along one-third of the arena.

Four white horses pranced on the obelisk-fringed stage and knelt before the pharaoh while a ballet troupe swirled among the palms and sphinxes. The two toddlers sprawled between me and their German-speaking parents seemed as utterly enthralled as I was.

When "Aida" inaugurated the first summer opera season at the Arena in 1913, the audience included Puccini, whose operas are as renowned as Verdi"s, though at the other end of the emotional spectrum.

Where Verdi"s music excites fury and glory, Puccini"s aims straight at the heart with sensuous, tear-jerking melodies.

PUCCINI FESTIVAL: Puccini penned some of his most famous arias in his Tuscan house by the marshy Lake Massaciuccoli in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Every summer, a Puccini festival is held next-door in an open-air theater. Ducklings scurry away as you enter via a lakeside wooden bridge.

Years ago, lantern-laden rowboats were sprinkled on the lake behind the stage for a performance of "Madama Butterfly." For last summer"s performance of "Turandot," I thought the orchestra was going all out with gongs and cymbals until I realized a strong thunderstorm was exploding in the mountains behind our seats.

"Turandot" is Puccini"s last, unfinished opera from 1924. It is the story of a namesake Chinese princess who resolves to marry only the suitor who can solve three riddles (she kills all the others). Finally a prince gets the three answers right, and tells Turandot she can only get out of marrying him by guessing his name.

One of the world"s most recognizable arias is "Nessun Dorma," which the prince sings anticipating love"s final victory as the dawn deadline approaches and Turandot remains clueless.

I grew up listening to Luciano Pavarotti"s signature rendition of this powerful hymn to hope, so no other tenor, however good, will ever be quite as meltingly emotional for me.

But to experience this aria not in a theater, but among fragrant linden trees on a balmy night, is incomparable. No stage setting could so precisely replicate the fairy tale"s first glimpse of a happy ending.

Most poignantly, it is the same lakeside evening Puccini enjoyed, when this aria was still playing only in the mind of one of Italy"s greatest musicians.

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If You Go...

LA SCALA: Located in Milan. The opera season is year-round, with no performances in August; . Guidelines for rush tickets (about $15):

ARENA DI VERONA: Located in Verona, about halfway between Milan and Venice. The 2010 season is June 18-Aug. 29;

PUCCINI FESTIVAL: Located in Torre del Lago, in Tuscany, about 20 miles from Pisa. The 2010 edition is July 16-Aug. 22;

STRIKES: Some performances in the 2010 season have been canceled last minute due to wildcat strikes.

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon has been conquered and colonized many times over in the last three millennia. Among the famous invaders: Alexander the Great, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Muslim warrior Saladin.

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon has been conquered and colonized many times over in the last three millennia. Among the famous invaders: Alexander the Great, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Muslim warrior Saladin.

Others include Persians, Romans, Egyptians, Christian Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, the French and English in World War I and, more recently, Israelis. Lebanon"s rival Christians and Muslims also upset the peace, most notably in the 1975-90 civil war.

Many invaders left monuments and other remnants of their civilizations that can be visited in day trips from Lebanon"s urbane capital, Beirut. You can go east to the Roman ruins at Baalbek, north to the Crusader-era Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles that looms over the city of Tripoli, south to the much fought-over Beaufort fortress, or northeast to the towering Cedars of Lebanon, and be back in Beirut in time for dinner. Lebanon is a tiny country — 135 miles (217 kilometers) long and about 50 miles (80 kilometers) wide — and all of these sites are within 60 miles (96 kilometers) of Beirut.

The National Museum in Beirut is a good place to get a picture of the parade of conquerors who"ve marched in and out. Artifacts run from prehistoric stone tools to statuary, coins, jewelry and mosaics from the bronze and iron ages, the Greek and Roman eras, and Byzantine and Arab rule.

Jabail-Byblos, 22 miles (35 kilometers) north of Beirut on the Mediterranean coast, offers an example of how archaeological sites in Lebanon often contain layers of history as one conqueror supplanted another. Here you will find a variety of ruins from the Persian, Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Crusader eras. The sarcophagus of a king, Ahiram, who died around 1000 B.C., has an inscription in Phoenician linear script, the father of alphabets. But there are also Byzantine-era mosaics from 2,000 years later.

Another example is Beaufort Castle, 47 miles (76 kilometers) southeast of Beirut, which sits atop a cliff about 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level in southern Lebanon, commanding a view into both Israel and Syria. The Crusader king Fulk seized the fortification in 1139, Saladin took it back for the Muslims in 1189, and the Israeli army captured it from Palestinian guerrillas in 1982.

A massive complex of Roman ruins at Baalbek, near the Syrian border, is just 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) east of Beirut, but getting there takes about two hours on a zigzag road over a mountain range and across the Bekaa Valley.

Once you arrive, a monumental staircase leads to two courtyards, one of them hexagonal. Another set of steps takes you to the Temple of Jupiter, whose six remaining columns (there were once 54) are said to be the world"s largest — 65 1/2 feet (20 meters) high and more than eight feet (2.4 meters) in diameter.

Next door is the Temple of Venus, also called the Temple of Bacchus, the god of wine, because of the vine leaf motif on some wall carvings. It is one of the world"s most complete remaining Roman temples. One of its famous features is the keystone at its entrance — which slipped two yards below the adjacent doorway stones during a 1759 earthquake.

The 19th-century explorer Sir Richard Burton ordered a brick structure built under the keystone to keep it from falling when he was Britain"s consul in the Syrian capital Damascus. In 1901, a German archaeological mission managed to raise up the keystone, though it still seems to sit precariously between the doorway stones on either side.

The complex was built mostly in the second and third centuries, but it was a place of worship earlier under the Romans and Greeks and later under Byzantine Christians and Arab Muslims.

Here, Phoenicians worshipped the god El, his son Baal-Haddad — Baalbek means the lord of the Bekaa Valley — and the fertility goddess Astarte. The Greeks replaced those with their equivalents, Zeus, Hermes and Aphrodite, and the Romans in turn with Jupiter, Mercury and Venus.

The Byzantine emperor Theodosius later tore down part of the Temple of Jupiter, using the materials to build a church honoring St. Barbara in the Great Courtyard. Muslim rulers turned the site into a fortress with towers and defensive walls.

Some temple columns were quarried at Aswan in southern Egypt, barged along the Nile River and Mediterranean, then dragged by slaves over the mountains. During Byzantine rule, eight rose-red columns from Baalbek were shipped to Constantinople, now Istanbul, to be used in building the famous church of Hagia Sophia.

Hassan Zaim, a guide at Baalbek, described how various conquerors destroyed the work of previous rulers to put their own stamp on the temples, comparing this to struggles among religious sects and militias in modern Lebanon.

"It"s all power and money. The man is the man," Zaim said.

Signs of political competition among Lebanon"s sects can even be found on the road outside the temples. The main party here, the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, has decked out lampposts with yellow banners showing the party symbol: Allah in Arabic script with an image of an AK-47 rifle.

The same symbol was seen on a T-shirt sold by a peddler who approached one of Zaim"s tour groups. He had the shirt in one hand, and coins in the other.

"Ancient coins?" he asked. "Hezbollah T-shirt?"

Back in Beirut, conflicts and contrasts between old and new are evident as well.

Women"s dress ranges from the briefest of miniskirts to full Muslim regalia in which all is covered but the eyes. And with its Christian heritage, Lebanon produces wine and a licorice-flavored alcohol called arak that can be sampled while partaking in Beirut"s famously frenzied nightlife. Arabs from staid neighboring countries often criticize Lebanon for its sinful ways while less publicly enjoying its pleasures.

Beirut is also undergoing a massive real estate development as it tries to regain its traditional role as a meeting point between the Arab and Western worlds. New hotels are springing up and parts of the old downtown have been beautifully restored or redeveloped in the prewar Ottoman and French colonial style. But a shopping mall called Beirut Souks, which sells Dior and Armani luxury goods, bears little resemblance to the Old Mideast souks, which were marketplaces known for brass, carpets and spices.

Simpler ways to experience Beirut include the coffee shops on Hamra Street, west Beirut"s main drag; the views over the sea from the pine-covered campus of the American University of Beirut; or a walk on the seaside Corniche where Lebanese gather to sip cups of thick coffee bought from roadside vendors.

But for the ancient sites, head out from the city. Anjar, 36 miles (58 kilometers) east of Beirut, offers remains of a walled city built by the Umayyad dynasty that ruled the Muslim world from the Syrian capital Damascus in the seventh and eighth centuries.

Beiteddine, 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast, is a palace complex in the Chouf Mountains, built in 18th and 19th centuries. Sidon, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south, is a coastal city with two Crusader castles, ruins of a Phoenician temple, a Great Mosque converted from a Crusader church, and a restored 17th century "khan" or inn.

In Tripoli, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north, the hilltop Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles contains elements from the 12th to 16th centuries. The coastal city, famous for its Arab sweets, also has historic mosques, khans, religious seminaries and bath houses.

Near Tyre, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Beirut, is an archaeological site with a Roman necropolis, a triumphal arch and a Hippodrome, or arena, used in the filming of the epic film "Ben Hur."

And to see one of the few remaining stands of the famous cedars of Lebanon, head 40 miles (64 kilometers) northeast, near Bcharre, a picturesque mountain village with a museum honoring the famous Lebanese-born poet Khalil Gibran.

Back in Beirut, despite the redevelopment, the center of the prewar city remains a barren lot. In Martyrs Square, a statue honors heroes executed in 1915 for fighting for independence from Ottoman Turkey. A close look at the statue reveals bullet holes from civil war battles.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Lonely Planet is giving away itineraries online from an upcoming guidebook, "USA"s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America."

OAKLAND, Calif. – Lonely Planet is giving away itineraries online from an upcoming guidebook, "USA"s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America."

The free PDFs can be downloaded from Lonely Planet"s Facebook page. A different itinerary is available each week through Labor Day.

The book comes out in September.

So far, Lonely Planet has released three itineraries — Route 66, the Pacific Northwest and New Jersey diners.

Still to come are Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grand Teton and Yellowstone, "Green Chile Adventure" in the Southwest and "60 Lighthouses in 60 Hours" in New England.

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Here is the list of top 10 beaches for 2010 from Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University"s Laboratory for Coastal Research, also known as Dr. Beach. He has compiled the list annually since 1991 using 50 criteria, including water quality and temperature, cleanliness, weather, sand, safety and facilities.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Here is the list of top 10 beaches for 2010 from Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University"s Laboratory for Coastal Research, also known as Dr. Beach. He has compiled the list annually since 1991 using 50 criteria, including water quality and temperature, cleanliness, weather, sand, safety and facilities.

1. Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y.

2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.

3. Coronado Beach, San Diego.

4. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, N.C.

5. Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.

6. Kahanamoku Beach, Waikiki, Honolulu.

7. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.

8. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.

9. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii.

10. Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne, Fla.

NEW YORK – New Orleans is back in Travel + Leisure magazine"s top 10 cities list for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and its tourism industry in August 2005.

NEW YORK – New Orleans is back in Travel + Leisure magazine"s top 10 cities list for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and its tourism industry in August 2005.

New Orleans took the No. 7 spot in the category of top cities in U.S. and Canada, part of the magazine"s annual World"s Best Awards. The 2010 awards were announced Thursday.

New Orleans was last named to the list, in the No. 10 spot, in July 2005. The city has steadily rebuilt and revitalized its tourism industry in the past few years.

New York took the No. 1 spot on the U.S. and Canada cities list, followed by San Francisco; Charleston, S.C.; Chicago; Santa Fe, N.M.; Vancouver, British Columbia; and after New Orleans, Quebec City, Quebec; Victoria, British Columbia, and Washington D.C.

Winners in the best islands category internationally include exotic locales like the Galapagos and Bali, but for the continental U.S. and Canada, the island winners are places mostly known for beautiful scenery and simple pleasures: Mount Desert Island, Maine; Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Vancouver Island, British Columbia; San Juan Islands, Wash., and Canada"s Prince Edward Island.

The full World"s Best Awards list will appear in Travel + Leisure"s August issue, which is available on newsstands July 23. It can also be seen online at .

Winners in other categories include Abercrombie & Kent for best river cruise, a new category on the list; Crystal Cruises as best large-ship cruise line; Singapore Airlines as best international airline; Virgin America as best domestic airline; and Hertz as best car-rental agency.

Best hotels in the continental U.S. included San Ysidro Ranch, A Rosewood Resort, in Santa Barbara, Calif., as top resort; Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago as best large city hotel; and Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Mont., as top inn.

Bangkok was rated as the best city internationally, but the magazine noted that data for the awards was mostly collected before the worst of the recent political upheaval in Thailand.

Winners for Travel + Leisure World"s Best Awards were determined using results of a questionnaire made available to Travel + Leisure readers online, and through invitations in the January, February and March issues of the magazine. Nearly 16,000 readers participated.