Jet fuel prices are dropping but airfares aren’t. Here are 10 reasons to stay home in the US
By Maureen O’Hare, CNN
(CNN) — Happy Independence Day to our readers in the USA! We’re celebrating at CNN Travel with the launch of our list of America’s 10 Best Towns to Visit for 2026. While this weekend is hotter than many of us might like (stay safe if your region’s being hit hard by the US heatwave), the 250th anniversary of the USA is a time to celebrate the nation’s people and places.
And while the Travel team’s not always big on staying close to home, airfares remain high right now, even as jet fuel prices are dropping sharply. The world outside your window is looking pretty attractive.
America’s Best Towns to Visit
American communities are the threads that weave the United States together, and they have never been more essential. Even in divisive times, we can trade ideas, voice disagreements and learn from one another in cafés, bars and bookstores or while strolling along paved urban trails or up mountain paths.
Our third annual list of America’s Best Towns to Visit looks beyond some of American tourism’s heaviest hitters to find less-discovered communities or places whose unexpected histories and curiosities have been obscured by splashier attractions.
At No. 10 on our 2026 list, we have Roanoke, the Virginia mountain town that’s a gateway to outdoor adventures along the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The “Star City of the South” has a compact, walkable downtown with a growing food scene for refueling after a day in the hills. We’ll have more on our top towns in the weeks to come.
Beautiful and unique
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then prime those peepers as, boy, do we have a show for you. We’ve rounded up 25 of America’s most stunning destinations, with both the natural and the man-made converging to create truly magical environments.
As with every July 4, a lot of fireworks and hot dogs will be enjoyed this weekend coast to coast, but for this special year celebrating 250 years of US nationhood, there are also some unique and unusual happenings taking place.
A flotilla of tall ships and military vessels is making its way up the Atlantic Coast as part of the summer-long Sail250 event, stopping this weekend in New York before shipping up to Boston for July 11 to 16.
On land, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive is making an epic month-long journey from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, with multiple stops coming up before the end of July.
Finally, in Washington DC, National Geographic’s new $300,000 Museum of Exploration lets guests look wildlife in the eye via 1,000 animal portraits, follow in the footsteps of an Everest expedition, and sip a cocktail as projections of whales drift across the wall — all a few blocks from the White House.
Any American treasures we’ve missed? Let us know by saying hi at the bottom of the newsletter, and we might just feature your picks in an upcoming roundup.
The redcoats are coming
These colonial reenactors spend their free time stitching historically accurate uniforms and portraying Revolutionary War figures. Just don’t mistake them for the biggest Fourth of July fans — their passion is history, not patriotic celebrations.
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