Georgia

For the last quarter century, Brannen Veal has been a staff member at Sea Island, a Forbes Five-Star resort in Georgia’s Golden Isles. Hired as a golf pro in 1996, the Macon native worked his way up to the head pro job before becoming director of golf in 2005.

There’s a common sentiment in Macon that downtown used to be nothing but parking lots—and now you can’t find anywhere to park. While you may have to settle for a space an extra block or two away these days, strolling around town is precisely the point of this charming central Georgia city’s cultural and social revival.

Discover a rich civil rights legacy, nature-based attractions, celebrated restaurants, and storied estates along Old Georgia Highway 3.

Venture beyond the fairways, and you’ll discover a lively riverwalk, terrific dining, and a charming Broad Street that lives up to its name (it’s the second-widest such street in America).

As much as we love the South's quintessential clapboard churches and stately mansions, our appreciation of Southern architecture extends beyond the classics. We‘ve combed the region for noteworthy structures, from historical masterpieces like Thomas Jefferson‘s Palladian Monticello to modern marvels like the breezy, zero-energy McDonald‘s Florida flagship (yes, McDonald’s).

In 1968, the tiny mountain town of Helen was dying. Over lunch, three local businessmen decided the town needed to add some street appeal if it hoped to capture the interests of passersby. By the time the leaves began to turn in 1969, Alpine Helen was born.

It sounds like the beginning of a dirty joke: “A lady novelist walks into a monastery . . .” but I am very serious about spending the weekend sleeping, meditating, singing, and praying with forty near-silent, white-robed, celibate men.

With a metro population of less than half a million, Savannah is hardly a big city. But on a recent Saturday night on River Street, it felt like one.

One of the South’s most-visited attractions, Rock City in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, draws about half a million visitors annually. They come to wind through its famous rock formations, wander its gnome-filled gardens, and enjoy views of seven states from Lover’s Leap.