Eric Anderson, MD

Southern California has a long aviation history, both civilian and military. And there's no better way to witness and commemorate our country's airborne accomplishments than to visit the region's many aviation museums.

Belgrade has been burned to the ground by conquerors more than 40 times in its long and bloody history. From the Celts to the Romans to the Huns, each have left their mark on this centuries-old city.

Michael Stone, founder of private investment firm Westwind Investors, opened the Map and Atlas Museum of La Jolla in San Diego this month, transforming his long-time hobby into the largest map museum west of the Mississippi.

A reader searching online for African safari tour operators asks our travel columnist whether there are some types of tour operators to avoid even if their costs are attractive.

Budapest is a city split by the Danube River. Historic buildings in its UNESCO World Heritage Site castle district look down what is, arguably, the most interesting river in Europe.

One doesn't expect Las Vegas-style extravaganzas on small ship cruises. Instead, this cruise line offers intimate enrichment lectures that feed the soul ... as well as the stomach.

Tourism experts predict that Asia will become the top travel destination in the world by 2015. Bookings to Asia hit a record in 2010, says one travel consortium, and air fares to Tokyo, Singapore and Shanghai are on the rise.

A reader hits up our travel columnists for advice on where to go when they travel. Here are their personal favorites -- and feel free to add some of your own suggestions in our comments section.

Tourist places in Mexico tend to be ... touristy. But in a little town of about 12,000 souls called Loreto, under the base of the stark Sierra de la Giganta Mountains, you'll find a taste of the country's Old World charm. Loreto looks the way Cabo did 50 years ago.

The best way to improve travel photography is no secret. Film legend Frank Capra once said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." This week, we explain his advice and offer other tips to achieve professional-looking travel shots.

Our travel columnist tours the world to photograph the final resting places of some of the rich -- and not-so-rich -- and famous.

There are places across America that do their best to help revive old holiday memories -- or help to create new ones. Here are three U.S. destinations guaranteed to get you into the holiday spirit.

A cruise can open a traveler's eyes to previously unknown wonders. In this economy, it can also represent the bargain vacation, but you have to do your homework. Part of the fun of choosing the right cruise is discovering your options -- and there are plenty.

Bill Mitchell is an artist in Anacortes, Wash., the traditional end of the road to catch the ferry to the San Juan Islands. His prolific paintings, which appear on most of the exterior walls in town, are nothing short of astonishing.

Petroglyphs are distributed widely across the world and at least three dozen such sites exist in the U.S., all telling the tale of those who lived there thousands of years ago. These places are not easy to find, however and their messages are poorly understood.

Irvine is roughly at the halfway point between Los Angeles and San Diego, and convenient to nearby Disneyland. Its many museums are also a haven for California's rich history.

Cruising coastal California by car can be the vacation itself. Our second stop: Huntington Beach, better known as "Surf City, USA." Everyone here seems to know everyone else -- especially if they surf.

Cruising coastal California by car can be the vacation itself. Our first stop: Redondo Beach, which manages to combine some of the upscale urban life of Los Angeles with the laid-back coastal culture that defines Southern California.

There's plenty of adventure -- and breath-taking scenery -- to be found in western Canada. Our travel columnists suggest five exciting places to visit to help you make the most of your journey west of the Rockies.

You'll find history and legend -- and perhaps a bit of both combined -- when traveling through England's West Country, a gorgeous, mysterious part of the Old World.

Most people vacation to escape their work. Yet many physicians travel to learn more about their profession's past, and the doctors who went before them. North America's medical history museums more than satisfy that curiosity.

Adventurous travelers really can't go much farther than this: Punta Arenas, Chile, which claims to be "the globe's most southern city."

Our travel writers find California's state capitol is more than just the home of the Gold Rush -- it's rich in its own medical history, as well.

Medical historians agree that most of the major contributions to medicine made in the last 500 years came from Europe -- many not made by physicians, but by scientists and lay persons. We visit of some of the great contributors.

Our travel columnists tour the sights of Bulgaria along the Danube, including the island of Sveti Ivan, a 5th century monastery where just this month archaeologists said they had found the remains of John the Baptist.

Thinking about planning a trip to Australia? Our seasoned travel columnists offer their best suggestions on three great places to visit on your first trip to the Land Down Under.

In the fifth and last in a series on the many wonders of small ship cruising through South East Alaska, our travel columnists visit Sitka, Alaska -- home of a bald eagle sanctuary.

In the fourth in a series on the many wonders of small ship cruising through South East Alaska, our travel columnists visit the tiny village of Tenakee Springs.

In the third in a series on the many wonders of small ship cruising through South East Alaska, our travel columnists visit the sparsely populated state capital of Juneau.

In the second in a series on the many wonders of small ship cruising through South East Alaska, our travel columnists visit Petersburg, Alaska's "Little Norway."