Pack your bags. Hold the mail. It’s time to turn your dream vacation into a real trip. "I haven’t seen a buyer’s market like this in 25 years," says travel expert Peter Greenberg. "Everything is on sale. Even the high end of the market is quietly offering add-ons: a free night here, a spa (水疗) pass there."
In a bad economy, this comes as good news for many. Whether you want to fly across the country or drive across the state line, here are places that offer plenty to do.
For anyone who can’t bear to sit still, big cities are the best choice for weekend trips. Zero in on cities that attract business travelers during the week. The big-name hotels empty out on the weekends and will give tourists a better deal.
Chicago, Illinois: One of America’s best-looking city centers, especially in the spring and summer. Spend a sunny day in Millennium Park, or consider an evening at Grant Achatz’s Alinea restaurant in Lincoln Park.
Las Vegas, Nevada: It’s never been so easy to score a deal on the Strip. Five-star hotels are marked down to three-star prices. Book a luxury suite (豪华套房) for $89 a night at www.trumplasvegashotel.com.
San Francisco, California: It’s rare for a major city to have such an extraordinary physical setting—the views of the bay (海湾) from the hills and the Ferry Building Marketplace are striking. It’s also a walkable city with great museums. You can visit the new California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. Go early!
Portland, Oregon: The International Rose Test Garden is the one place one never tires of visiting. It’s green, friendly, and laid-back. There are over 10,000 rosebushes, and because it’s a test garden, the public has never seen many of these 550 varieties. The Rose Festival is one of the biggest celebrations in the city and runs May 22 to June 14. What does the word "add-ons" (Line 3, Para. 1) most probably mean