No.2
Go Victorian in Cape May
You don’t need to know the difference between a Queen Anne and a Gothic Revival to fall in love with Cape May Victoriana, which earned the town its designation as a National Historic Landmark. Here, “painted ladies” done up in bold color schemes and bedecked with gingerbread sit majestically, sometimes sweetly, along narrow streets in this increasingly hip seashore town. Bed-and-breakfasts, like the well-loved Chalfonte, abound, but daytrippers can take in the flavor through hourly walking and trolley tours. And don’t count out a wintertime visit: During Christmas in Cape May, through January, the town takes on a charming Dickensian vibe, with twinkling gaslights and robes of fragrant garland.