Consider permission permanently granted to be outlandish: other towns may surprise you, but in San Francisco you will surprise yourself. Good times and social revolutions tend to start here, from manic gold rushes to blissful hippie be-ins.

For most, any trip to the Empire State starts or finishes in its iconic metropolis: New York City. However, if you confine your travels only to the five boroughs there's a considerable amount you're missing out on.

Scented by slow-roasted pork and sea breezes, and colored by swashbuckling history, this sun-washed medley of Spanish and American influences is a paradise-seeker's pleasure dome.