Our Favorite Autumn Getaways

You had a busy Summer, from California to the Mediterranean, it's easy to do longer escapes. While the weather may have cooled and you have less free time, it doesn't mean you can't travel for a long weekend. Below are our favorite autumn getaways.

Related: How To Travel The World and Keep Your Job

Where Should You Travel This Fall?

Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Get ‘hooked’ in Cape Cod, a quaint location full of beaches and seafood, about an hour from Boston. Probably well know for the lighthouses, check out a tour of one of the sixteen that engulf the peninsula. You’ll get to hear the history as well as get your daily exercise climbing the winding stairs all the way to the top.

Honor the Mayflower pilgrims at the Pilgrim Monument, a 252-ft monument with dynamic views. Or sit along the Cape Cod Canal and watch the boats pass by. If you fancy a camping trip, Nickerson State Park’s got you covered as you set out for the peace and tranquility of the outdoors. Perhaps you’d like to do some biking instead? At one point, it was a railroad line, but now it’s known as the Cape Cod Rail Trail, traveling 22 miles and through 6 towns.

Asheville, NC

Surrounded by the captivating Appalachian mountains, Asheville sits near the edge of North Carolina. Downtown Asheville is bustling with creativity; its laid-back atmosphere matching the hospitality of the people as well as the town’s history. There are many independent shops and crafts to suit anyone’s fancy or head to a craft brewery if you’re feeling thirsty. Asheville also has a haunted tour you can take; perfect for the chilling weather when you want to take advantage of the haunting spirit.

Away from downtown, you can check out the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the United States built by George Vanderbilt in 1895, reminiscent of castles in Germany and France. Take a tour of the estate or explore Antler Hill, which houses a winery as well as an exhibit hall that holds artifacts of the and stories of the Vanderbilt family.

Lastly, let’s not forget the Blue Ridge Mountains where hikers can travel for miles on end and never want to take their eyes off the scenery. Head down one of the trails by walk or by bike; whether it be easy or strenuous, there’s something for everyone. Afterwards, drive along Blue Ridge Parkway, dubbed ‘America’s favourite drive’ as its 469-mile scenery takes you between ridges and mountains so vast.

Salem

Known for the 1692 witch trials and setting for the cult classic ‘Hocus Pocus’, explore the historical town of Salem. This town is filled with different museums and historical locations such as The Salem Wax Museum which features life-size creations of of the puritan life; the Witch Dungeon Museum recreates the trials and a tour of a replica dungeon; or walk around the Peabody Essex Museum which holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US. If you’re still up to walking, take a Hocus Pocus tour which discovers the truth of the Witch Trial hysteria from Nathaniel Hawthorne to a cemetery where a judge was buried.

By Alix Vo