Fort de France, Martinique

The Caribbean is more than just a beach. We’ve long urged readers to explore some of the Caribbean’s cities — and right now, it doesn’t get any more interesting than the unique capital of Fort de France, Martinique, a culturally rich, walkable seafront city that’s also a great jumping off point to explore the rest of one of the Caribbean’s most fascinating islands. Fort de France is also getting a big boost with the soon-to-debut Hotel Simon, a modern, world-class boutique downtown. If you want something more historic, there’s the charming Hotel L’Imperatrice, a taste of Old Martinique. And even if you visit no other bar in the city,  you have to spend a Thursday night at Le Vieux Foyal. For a beach escape, travel across to the island’s Atlantic coast for a luxurious stay at Cap-Est. Oh, and it’s easier than ever to get here, with nonstop flights from Miami (on American Airlines) and northeastern cities like New York, Boston and Baltimore on Norwegian.