New Orleans

Where to Stay: Soniat House

Why Go Now: The Big Easy has made big progress since the damage of Hurricane Katrina -- and getting a buzz on Bourbon Street is really better before you have a baby. Stay in the famed, romantic French Quarter, check out the voodoo and haunted tours of New Orleans (the kinds of things that would cause nightmares in younger travelers), and stay up way past a kid's bedtime checking out the town's legendary jazz clubs. (One worth checking out: the clubby, candlelit Bombay Club, just off of Bourbon Street.)