Allentown, is the largest of the three Pennsylvania cities that make up the Lehigh Valley. Formerly an industrial hub, Allentown is probably most well known as the subject of the eponymous Billy Joel song. The long history of Allentown has left it with an impressive architectural heritage that includes buildings such as the neo-Roman Art Museum, which contains a reconstructed room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The city is also home to the Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom amusement park.

With NASCAR at the Speedway, harness racing at Dover Downs, 10 nationally recognised museums, plus historical attractions galore, it's easy to see why the capital of Delaware is a great weekend destination. Check out the world's largest cargo plane, stationed at Dover Air Force Base, or explore the beginnings of recorded sound at the Johnson Victrola Museum. It's the perfect time to visit the Biggs Museum of Art, which is running a special exhibition to celebrate its 10th anniversary. "Artful Living: the Legacy of Sewell C. Biggs" features fine and decorative art gems from the private collection of the local patron and museum namesake. Also worth a visit: the Delaware Agricultural Museum and the John Dickinson Plantation, where staff, dressed in period costume, explain and reenact life in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Round out the day with a meander around Green and Loockerman Streets downtown. Lined with historic Colonial and Victorian buildings, plus speciality book, candle and jewellery stores, it's a great place to shop or sample the local fare at a neighbourhood cafe or restaurant.

The most suburban of the five boroughs, Staten Island is often neglected as a tourist destination. Take a ride from Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry and get some of the best views of New York City for free, then stick around and see what Staten Island has to offer. Check out the Himalayan monastery-style Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, or visit Historic Richmond Town for a recreation of colonial New York. The beautiful Hamilton Park neighborhood was the setting for "The Godfather."