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• Who Visits America Most
  
  
  LAUNCH SLIDESHOW
  ©Monsoon/Photolibrary/Corbis

   

  Top 20 countries ranked

  The list of America's top international visitors doesn't tend to change too much from year to year: Countries like the U.K., Japan, and Germany, appear regularly in the top 10, and occasionally a smaller nation like Israel or Taiwan will pop into the top 20.

  See our slideshow of Who Visits America Most.

  On the surface, the story looks the same in 2009, based on data from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), whose latest report shows international arrivals to the U.S. through July of this year. There are a few shifts in position since last time we checked (using OTTI's 2006 data): Argentina is on the top 20 list this time around; Sweden has dropped a notch; Venezuela has moved up a position.

  The real story, though, is not in the order of the list but in the year-to-year comparisons. Unsurprisingly, inbound tourism to the U.S.
  
  

• 10 Vampire Vacations
  
  
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  ©Gary Braasch/CORBIS

   

  We vant to suck your blood

  Even before Bela Lugosi muttered those infamous words “I never drink… wine” in his 1920s stage and film versions of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, vampires have been ingrained in our culture. Never more than now. Writers Anne Rice and Stephen King helped keep vampires alive and recent television shows, movies, and books like True Blood and Twilight have introduced vampires to a whole new generation.

  See our slideshow of 10 Vampire Vacations.

  Indeed, tour groups around the world are helping the vampire imagery come to life with excursions to a number of eerie places—from the legendary Bran Castle (a.k.a Dracula’s Castle) in Romania to historic vampire haunts in New Orleans. Even the small town of Forks, Wash., has become flooded with Twilight-crazed fans hoping to catch a glimpse of locations made popular by the sexy teen vampires.
  
  

• Bizarre Spa Treatments
  
  
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  ©Spa at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale

   

  Oddball treatments from gemstones to beer yeast

  In the market for a little new-fangled spa therapy? Gone are the days of simple cold cream and Swedish massage. Nowadays, ailments like sore muscles, lank locks and sallow skin are being remedied with diamond elixirs, full-body fish therapy,  and—yes—golf ball massages.

  Spa culture has moved from basic treatments, such as classic facials and massages, to a growth industry where, it seems, anything goes, from goat yogurt facials to products with unexpected ingredients, such as maple syrup, olives and dates. But before spending a fortune on a treatment, it pays to ask the therapist about the ingredients and find out if any studies are available to confirm (or deny) what the treatment promises to accomplish.

  See our slideshow of Bizarre Spa Treatments.

  From birth to adulthood, there are a wealth of healthy spa options, many of them bizarre beyond borders. Make that “before” birth.
  
  

• Winter Olympics 2010 Trip Guide
  
  
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  ©VANOC-COVAN

   

  Tips for getting the most out of Vancouver

  The 2010 Winter Olympics return to North America on February 12th, when the world of snow sport enthusiasts descend upon one of North America's most beautiful cities, Vancouver, British Columbia. Meanwhile, the more than 500,000 residents of this peninsular city that separates the Strait of Georgia (locals simply call it the ‘ocean’) from the Coast Mountains have endured six years of inconveniences. The Sea to Sky Highway, the main road from the city to Whistler, was widened to accommodate those traveling between the two primary Games locations, while Cambie Street was outfitted with the aptly named Canada Line, a new underground mass transit line.

  See our slideshow of the Winter Olympics 2010 Trip Guide.

  And while many cities have famously undergone huge facelifts in preparation for hosting the Olympics, Vancouverites by their nature would rather party than pout.
  
  

• America's Best Cupcakes
  
  
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  ©Cupcake Royale

   

  Where to go for small-size yumminess

  Vividly decorated, self-contained pockets of sugary goodness, cupcakes are one of the few items that can make even the grumpiest adult feel like a kid again. “Cupcakes are cute; they don’t have to be shared, are fun and colorful, and speak to people in a way that other desserts don’t,“ says Rachel Kramer Bussel of the widely popular Cupcakes Take the Cake blog, a leading authority on all things cupcake. “Cupcakes can disarm even the biggest curmudgeon.”

  From their visual appeal to their perfectly rationed sizes, America’s love affair with what are known as fairy cakes in Britain elicit feelings of nostalgia. They’ve been around for as long as we can remember.

  See our slideshow of America's Best Cupcakes.
  
  

• 10 Tips to Beat the Security Lines
  
  
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  ©AFP/Getty Images 

   

  How to become checkpoint-friendly

  Though ever-increasing security at airports makes sense in the face of terrorist activity worldwide, that doesn’t make the slow processing speeds and long lines at airport security any less frustrating.

  See our slideshow of 10 Tips to Beat the Security Lines.

  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is aware that there’s room for improvement, but they’re not in a hurry to make your life easier. “The TSA cares about security,” says Bruce Schneier, security expert and author of Schneier on Security, but “if you want to make security faster, there need to be more lines. They’re just not going to do that.”

  To be fair, the TSA has made small steps toward improving the speed of security. They introduced Advanced Technology X-ray scanners at major airports; installed self-select lanes so slow-moving families and expert travelers choose different lanes; they removed bans on frequently confiscated and innocuous items such as nail clippers; they endorsed “checkpoint-friendly” laptop bags.
  
  

• America's Prettiest Towns
  
  
  LAUNCH SLIDESHOW
  ©Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce

   

  20 towns that are picture-perfect

  As the sun casts its autumnal glow on thousands of picturesque U.S. cities and towns, it's the perfect time to recognize the proverbial winners of the country's civic-beauty contest. Some you may recall from last year, others are brand sparkling new.

  See our slideshow of America's Prettiest Towns.

  Like all such pageants, this is a subjective one—but we've received help from several experts with keen eyes for architecture, aesthetics, and small-town charm. This year's pretty-town pickers include Salt Lake City-based architectural photographer Alan Blakely; residential designer Erin Anderson; and painter John Vander Stelt.

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  EXPERT PANEL

  Alan Blakely
  Architectural photographer; founder and director of The Association of Independent Architectural Photographers and Real Estate Photographers of America.