Travel News

HarBoR HOtEL
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTCOUNTY, MDMD

Mixed-use developments are opening nationwide, and the $2 billion, 300-acre waterfront National Harbor project will be the newest to hit the DC area. Gaylord Nation Resort and Convention Center (www.gaylordhotels.com; 301-965-2000), opening April 25, is the cornerstone of the project; it will have 2,000 rooms, a 20,000-square-foot spa, salon and fitness center, and many convention amenities. You can also dine on Italian, seafood, steaks and other fare at a variety of eateries, and spend your nights bouncing from bar to lounge, including Pose, The Ultra Lounge, on the hotel’s top floor. If you feel like exploring a bit, dining cruises and water taxis are available to Old Town Alexandria, Mount Vernon and Georgetown.

DIVE RIGHT IN
ORLANDO

This month, SeaWorld is debuting Aquatica (www.aquaticabyseaworld.com).

Unlike any other Central Florida waterpark, the South Seas-inspired Aquatica offers 80,000 square feet of sand, not to mention 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, beach cabanas and the world’s only side-by-side wave pools, alongside its main attraction, which shoots riders through a lagoon in clear tubes. The park is also designed to minimize wait times—so pack that bathing suit and hit the water.

SPLASH AROUND
SAN FRANCISCO

Dive into the expanded and revamped “Splash Zone: Ocean Homes,” opening March 17 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (www.montereybayaquarium. org). Journey through an underwater forest and wander beneath a canopy of kelp. There’s also a larger, more immersive touch pool and more than 45 bilingual interactive exhibits where children can delve deeper into how animals survive in the ocean.

ART TAKES FLIGHT
ATLANTA

Nex ext time you find yourself at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, wander over to Terminal T and take in “Symbolic Use of Animals in African Cultural Arts,” one of the largest exhibitions of world-class traditional African sculptural art ever displayed in a public space. The various sculptures and masks are on display through October.

FREE TOURS
NEW YORK

• Known as the financial capital of the world, Wall Street is an area filled with history, architecture and people to be seen. For a free tour of this bustling neighborhood, meet a tour guide from the Downtown Alliance (www.downtownny.com) at the front steps of the US Custom House (at One Bowling Green) at noon on Thursdays and Saturdays. Stops include the Stone Street Historic Disctrict, Trinity Church (shown here) and the New York Stock Exchange.