Hershey, Pennsylvania
Say or think “Hershey,” and images of small, foil-wrapped Kisses and big, rectangular bars immediately make your mouth water. And that milk chocolate heritage “is still the DNA of why Hershey is a destination,” said Rick Dunlap, public relations director for the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau.
Milton Hershey’s story is one of great success after serial failure. The chocolate magnate finally made it big after nearly bankrupting his entire family. He did for chocolate what Henry Ford did for the automobile, using technology to make milk chocolate affordable for common people.
Hershey completed and opened his chocolate factory in 1905, and with Hershey’s support, a town was soon growing around the plant. The factory made its last Kiss in 2012, when production shifted to the new West Hershey plant. Although visitors can’t tour the factory, Hershey’s Chocolate World serves as the company’s visitor center. There, the free tour is like a funhouse ride as a cart whisks guests through the process of chocolate making. Other ticketed options include the 4-D Chocolate Mystery interactive show, chocolate tastings and the opportunity to create your own candy bar. The hourlong Hershey Trolley Works tour leaves from Chocolate World and takes passengers around town, highlighting the history and showcasing major landmarks, such as Hersheypark, Hershey’s mansion, Hotel Hershey and the Milton Hershey School.
“If you’re going to do only one thing in Hershey and get an overall picture of what this place is, it’s the trolley tour,” Dunlap said.
Hershey and his wife, Kitty, founded the Milton Hershey School in 1909 to serve orphans. Eight years later, they transferred most assets and control of the company to a trust that benefits the school, which today has more than 2,000 students. Groups can visit Founder’s Hall on campus for a tour and video to learn about the Hersheys’ philanthropy.
During the Great Depression, Hershey put local men to work building the 276-room Hotel Hershey. The 1933 hotel underwent a $67 million expansion and renovation in 2009 that included a new restaurant, boutique shops and a swimming pool complex. Guests can enjoy chocolate-themed treatments at the hotel’s spa.
www.visithersheyharrisburg.org
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi, is the place to go for up-close views of stunning Southern architecture. The city is home to an exceptional collection of well-preserved antebellum mansions, houses and estates.
The Longwood mansion dates to 1860 and is the largest octagonal home in the nation. Rosalie, built in 1820, served as Union headquarters during the Civil War. And the same family has lived in Linden, which was constructed in 1800, for nearly 170 years.
“They all have their own story,” said Lynsey Smith, director of sales for Visit Natchez.
Twelve homes are open for public tours year-round, and the spring and fall pilgrimages throw open the doors of typically closed antebellum homes for public tours. The spring pilgrimage is larger and lasts longer than the fall pilgrimage, with about two dozen houses in spring and about 15 in autumn. Different houses are open different days, and the homes range from sprawling mansions to small cottages. During pilgrimage is the only time guides — some of whom live in the house they’re showcasing — don period costumes. Groups can buy tickets, coordinate tours, arrange step-on guides, plan carriage rides and schedule afternoon teas through Natchez Pilgrimage Tours.
Most properties will arrange group experiences, such as meals, high teas and Christmas teas, each with live music and tours, Smith said. Visitors can also stay at several historic properties. At the 1857 Greek Revival-style Stanton Hall, groups of up to 25 can walk to the on-grounds Carriage House restaurant for dinner following their tour, or groups of up to 20 can arrange for afternoon tea.
Many of the homes, such as Linden and Twin Oaks, offer bed-and-breakfast-type lodging with a handful of rooms; Monmouth Historic Inn and Dunleith Historic Inn are larger historic hotel-type properties. Dunleith is an 1856 mansion with 22 rooms and 40 manicured acres, as well as the Castle Restaurant, which is housed in the manor’s original carriage house. Monmouth’s rooms are housed in the original mansion and seven outbuildings, all situated on 26 acres, and guests can also dine at Restaurant 1818.
Austin, Texas
In Austin, music is in the air. Visitors don’t have to try very hard to find it. The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has six stages featuring 23 live music performances every week, and the city is home to more than 250 live music venues, more per capita than any other U.S. city.
“A lot of music offerings start the minute you walk outside the hotel,” said Shilpa Bakre, senior communications manager for the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. She said, “It’s definitely something you see and feel and hear and experience from the time you touch down in Austin until the time you leave.”
The PBS series “Austin City Limits” is the longest-running show in television history and helped cement the city’s reputation as a live-music mecca. The pilot, which featured Willie Nelson, was shot in 1974 and aired in 1975. In 2010, the show moved to its new home: the Moody Theater, next to the W Austin Hotel and Residences in downtown. The new 2,750-capacity live-music venue, built specifically for “Austin City Limits,” hosts both tapings and ACL’s Live concert series. Tickets to tapings are given away in drawings; because groups can’t buy tickets, it can be tough to get into a taping, but the CVB has a partnership with the show and can try to get tickets, Bakre said. An easier option is for groups to buy tickets for the “Austin City Limits” live concert series.
The success of the show also inspired the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which started in 2002 and expanded to two consecutive weekends in 2013. The South by Southwest Conference and Festivals began in 1987 as a music festival and has expanded into a six-day showcase of music, film, fashion, comedy, design and more; it draws more than 300,000 people and 2,275 bands from around the world.
