All upcoming Travel programs

What do a giant rocking chair, the world’s largest wind chime, and a field of spray-painted Cadillacs have in common? Nothing much, except that they're all examples of the thousands of unique, amusing, and sometimes-bizarre roadside attractions that travelers across America visit each year. Travel expert Bill Clevlen offers some of the stories behind many of these quirky tourist magnets and reveals why they’re worth a stop­—or at least a photo op.

Historian Clay Jenkinson is a John Steinbeck scholar who is retracing the author’s 1960 Travels with Charley tour of America to explore the mood and face of the country on the eve of its 250th birthday. Jenkinson examines Steinbeck's extraordinary account of his road trip ­and his own attempt to make sense of what the author called "this monster country" by viewing it with fresh eyes during a spring-though-fall driving odyssey.

Tour guide and author Christopher Skutela leads you off the beaten path in Krakow, revealing sites where tourists don’t tend to go. Explore historic neighborhoods, one of the hidden health resorts in Poland, and a former socialist utopia district. Then get a breath of fresh air at Kosciuszko Mound and Bielany Hermitage and Woods.

The art of Impressionist-era creators is in the spotlight during a 2-day visit to three of Philadelphia’s outstanding collections led by art historian Ursula Rehn Wolfman. The Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition “Mary Cassatt at Work” is devoted to the works of the Pennsylvania-born Impressionist, who challenged the conventional expectations of Philadelphia’s elite. “Matisse & Renoir: New Encounters at the Barnes” places masterpieces from the same period near each other and traces the development of these two artists. Showcased in an elegant Beaux-Arts–style building, the Rodin Museum’s collection of nearly 150 bronze, marble, and plaster sculptures represents every phase of Auguste Rodin’s career. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Filmmaker Céline Cousteau recounts the making of her documentary Tribes on the Edge, which examines the human and ecological threats faced by the Indigenous peoples of the Javari Valley reservation, located along Brazil’s Amazon border with Peru. She examines those aggressive forces—from deforestation to health crises, illegal mining to the dismantling of protections of land and human rights—and why the struggle for survival that played out in the Amazon has implications that reach across the globe.

Over the course of the more than three decades he lived or visited there, the Badlands transformed Theodore Roosevelt into the kind of vigorous outdoorsman that he’d idealized as a youth—and that shaped his public image as president. Perhaps more importantly, this corner of the West turned him into a passionate conservationist. Experience the Badlands landscapes—filled with dramatic vistas, vividly colored canyons, and wandering herds of wild bison—on a 5-day study tour led by naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley.

For more than 115 years, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has been recognized as one of the world’s most important and beautiful collections of gardens and glasshouses. As he explores its indoor spaces, Karl Gercens, Longwood’s conservatory manager, covers historic features including the Orangery and East Conservatory and previews a history-making addition: the West Conservatory, which brings together 19th-century glasshouse traditions and the newest sustainable technologies.

A mecca for aficionados of railroad technology and history, Strasburg, Pennsylvania, offers the ideal destination for a tour led by rail historian James Reaves. Featured in the leisurely day are a round-trip steam train excursion through beautiful Lancaster County on the country’s oldest continuously operating railroad and an afternoon at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, which houses more than 100 locomotives and cars.

The stark natural beauty of Long Island’s South Fork has inspired painters from William Merritt Chase and Childe Hassam to Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Lee Krasner. Participants in a 5-day tour led by arts journalist Richard Selden encounter works by these artists and others at galleries in the Hamptons; visit the former home and studio of Krasner and Pollock; and take in the Brooklyn Museum and the Yale University Art Gallery during travel to and from Long Island. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Nestled in the heart of scenic Shenandoah Valley, Staunton, Virginia, is alive with history, culture—and a little steam. Join Washington, D.C., area guide Lynn O’Connell for a weekend getaway that offers a sampling of Staunton’s sights plus a train excursion.