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Washington DC March 21, 2018

5 free ways to see Washington, DC

There are probably more free things to do in the Capitol than nearly any other major city in the world.

Hotels March 21, 2018

Cities with best 5 star hotels under $200

It's not surprising to hear that global prices for hotels have risen 5 percent in 2012, from the year before.  But there are cities where average prices actually went down.  Now when you visit a world-class city, you can stay in a 5 star hotel for less then $200-sometimes considerably less.  We teamed up with Hotels.com, which just put out its Hotels.com Hotel Price Index, to find the most luxurious properties without breaking the bank. See more from Hotels.com's Victor Owens.

Theme Parks March 21, 2018

Top 10 US value destinations for 2013

It’s that time of year. The weather is getting warmer, folks are itching to plan their spring and summer trips, and we at Hotwire are taking a thorough look at the most popular domestic destinations to come up with the top 10 places where folks can get the best overall value. Every year, we perform this analysis – we call it the Travel Value Index – in order to steer travelers toward the cities where they can get the most out of their travel budgets. We evaluate the top U.S. leisure markets, scoring them across three individual categories -- discounts on air, hotel and car, low prices on air, hotel and car, and affordable entertainment options. Think of the this list as your guide to the best travel values, and keep the money you save in the bank, or use it to have even more fun at your destination.

Resorts March 21, 2018

Top 12 desert escapes

Soak, sun, relax--do all of this and more on a trip to these top-notch desert destinations.

Historic Sites March 21, 2018

10 coolest 20th century-era skyscrapers

Today, skyscrapers are growing taller thanks to design innovations that have allowed engineers to build to almost limitless heights. But bigger doesn't always mean better. Some of the coolest looking skyscrapers arose during the mid to late 20th century. Here is a list of 10 of the most eye-catching skyscrapers completed before year 2000 that are worth a visit.

Food Trends March 20, 2018

America's best chocolate shops

These spots are stocked with irresistible confections that will satisfy your cravings. 

Food-Drink March 20, 2018

6 historic hot dog joints

Take a bite of Americana by way of the good old hot dog.

Gourmet March 20, 2018

Castles where you can eat like a royal

Yes, you too can dine like a king or queen.

Investment March 20, 2018

Surprising origins of the 10 biggest chain restaurants

It’s not easy to run a restaurant. It’s even more difficult to run a chain restaurant. For one, you need to serve food that people will want to eat, all across the region, country, or world. Then you need to keep the menu fresh and up-to-date, all while making sure that every single dish in every single location looks and tastes exactly the same. And after all of that’s been done, you need to launch marketing and advertising campaigns to fill the seats, and figure out what’s going wrong if they’re not getting filled. To repeat, it’s not easy to run a successful chain restaurant. Chain restaurants as we know them today only came about within the past 30 or so years, largely because that genre of restaurant, called fast casual, is only about that old. There were plenty of hamburger chains and diner chains dating back to the 1950s, but the whole concept of going to a casual restaurant with your family, having a beer and ordering inexpensive food that makes everyone happy, and leaving with a doggie bag is still remarkably new. In fact, when Larry Lavine opened the first Chili’s in 1975 in Dallas, people lined up around the block on a daily basis just to eat a bowl of chili and drink a margarita. In many cases, the origins of today’s most popular chain restaurants aren’t exactly what you might expect. Many of them had different names when they were founded, as well as different menus and concepts. With the exception of Olive Garden, which was invented by General Mills as opposed to a single lucky entrepreneur, most of the big chains got their start when someone opened up a restaurant that just happened to do really, really well. And if it happened to fall into that new style of fast casual dining, wealthy investors were waiting around every corner during the '70s and '80s to take advantage of this newest dining trend. Once a chain restaurant is well-funded and its concept and menu are fully in place, it’s amazing how quickly it can spread. Panera Bread, one of the youngest major chains, only got its start 20 years ago, but today there are more than 1,600 units and it’s rapidly growing. Whether it’s an Australian-themed steakhouse, an inexpensive wing joint, or a New England-style seafood restaurant, these chains are known and patronized by millions and millions of Americans, and they all have really interesting backstories.  

Food Trends March 20, 2018

Where to drink like Jay Gatsby

Alcohol may be legal, but that hasn’t stopped a proliferation of hard-to-find drinkeries that recall the 18th amendment. As The Great Gatsby hits theaters, we uncover ten speakeasies where you can party like it’s 1922.

CUISINES March 20, 2018

America’s 5 best BBQ hot spots

It’s that time of year when a man’s mind starts to turn to thoughts of hot, steaming piles of meat, served atop fluffy white bread, drowned in tangy, rich sauce, and accompanied by buckets of slaw, mac and cheese, potato salad, and about 17 buckets of ice cold beer. Now that we think about it, there isn’t actually a time of year when we’re not dreaming of barbecue, but with summer coming up, it seems as good a time as any to plan a road trip to the following meat masters.