Even if you haven’t been, it’s hard not to fall instantly in love with the enchanting Cinque Terre, an area along the Italian coast also known as the Five Lands. Comprised of five villages—Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso—Cinque Terre is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage list. Unlike the other villages, Corniglia rests on a promontory high above the ocean. Thanks to Cyril4j for posting this photo.

Photo: Cyril4j

Plan your trip to Cinque Terre on TravelMuse.

Want to share your recent trip photos and have them featured on TravelMusings? Add your photos to our TravelMuse Flickr group or TravelMuse Facebook page, and we’ll publish our favorites.

Kicking back and sipping a frosty beer is the perfect way to kick off a well-deserved vacation, if you ask me. From lagers to ambers to pale ales, the possibilities are endless and delicious. Next time you’re in a new city and want to imbibe, take a tour of a local brewery to really have a reason to raise your glass. Here are TravelMuse’s top five picks for best brewery tours.

The Anheiser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo: pknitty86

Anchor Brewing Company

Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Hours: Two tours a day Mon. through Fri., by reservation only. Call at least a month in advance.
Admission: Free.

Anchor, founded in San Francisco in 1896, has seen its fortunes rise and fall through the years, but it is firmly established today as a treasured local institution. Touring the gorgeous handcrafted copper brewhouse, where all the beers are handmade, is quite an experience. The walking tour of the brewery lasts about 45 minutes. The guide teaches a brief history of the brewery and walks you through three floors of the building. Afterwards, on to the tasting. Tel. 415-863-8350, www.anchorbrewing.com

Anheuser-Busch

Location: St. Louis, Mo.
Hours: Open daily. Call for hours, which vary with the season.
Admission: Free.
Of note: Tours also are available at the Fairfield, Calif., Fort Collins, Colo., Jacksonville, Fla. and Merrimack, N.H. facilities.

A trip to the world headquarters of “King of Beers” involves visiting the historic Budweiser Clydesdale Stable, Beechwood Lager Cellars, historic brewhouse and Bevo Packaging Facility. You’ll finish up in the Hospitality Room for a tasting. Even if you don’t like beer, it’s a treat to see the famous Budweiser Clydesdales in their stables. An optional tour offered is the “Beermaster Tour” ($25 for adults; $10 for those under 21). More in-depth than the regular tour, you’ll go behind the scenes, plus sample beer directly from a finishing tank and get a variety of gifts. Tel. 314-577-2626, www.budweisertours.com

Boulder Beer

Location: Boulder, Colo.
Hours: Mon.-Fri., 2 p.m. or by appointment.
Admission: Free.

Colorado’s first microbrewery, started in 1979 by two home brewing college professors, doesn’t take itself too seriously. Start your tour of the brewery with a beer in hand, then go to the brew pub to learn more about the beers, and of course, sample them. Of note is that the company was granted the 43rd brewery license in U.S. history. By 2005, there were more than 1,500. Tel. 303-444-8448, www.boulderbeer.com

Great Lakes Brewing Co.

Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Hours: Fri., 4 to 8 p.m.; Sat., 1 to 8 p.m.
Admission: Free.

Great Lakes Brewing Company, the first microbrewery in the state of Ohio, was founded by two brothers inspired by travels (and beer) in Europe. The large brewery has six buildings, three of which originally served as horse stables and kegging facilities for the Schlather Brewing Company, which was built in 1878. Fun fact: Bullet holes in the beautiful Taproom are said to have come from “The Untouchable” Eliot Ness. Check out brewing tanks in the brewhouse, dine in the beer cellar, or sample beers in the indoor/outdoor beer garden. Private tours ($50 for a maximum of 30 people) are also available. Tel. 216-771-4404, www.greatlakesbrewing.com

Samuel Adams Brewery
Location: Boston, Mass.
Hours: Mon. to Thurs., Sat., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Fri., 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Admission: Though the tour is free, a suggested $2 donation is encouraged. The money goes to local charities. Kids allowed with an adult.

You’ll get the spiel, almost legend now, of founder Jim Koch’s vision for a better beer in America while you learn about the brewing process. Pick up any number of Sam Adams merchandise at the brewery’s gift shop, open during tour hours. For those going to a Fenway game in the summer on select Friday nights, a special tour treat combines beer, baseball and a free ride; take a tour and get a lift to the game on an Old Town Trolley between 2 and 5:30 p.m. Tel. 617-368-5080, www.samueladams.com

Based on “Top 5 Brewery Tours” by Kim Foley MacKinnon.

Egypt is home to the incredible Giza Pyramids. Thanks to firestarter1980 for posting this photo.

Photo: firestarter1980

Plan your trip to Egypt on TravelMuse.

Want to share your recent trip photos and have them featured on TravelMusings? Add your photos to our TravelMuse Flickr group or TravelMuse Facebook page, and we’ll publish our favorites.

Architecture is a great way to get to know a city’s culture and history. From monuments to houses to office buildings and everything in between, architecture is an integral part of our day-to-day existence. If you plan on visiting any of these cities on your next vacation, be sure to check out their architecture museums.

The National Building Museum. Photo: BAR Photography

Skyscraper Museum, New York

Even the most jaded Manhattanite can’t resist staring upward sometimes. The city is a vertical metropolis, and it has a museum dedicated to that subject. New York City’s Skyscraper Museum explores the design, technology and culture of tall buildings. Permanent displays include miniature models of Downtown and Midtown Manhattan, historical photos of skyscrapers under construction and a section devoted to the Word Trade Center and rebuilding at Ground Zero. Through 2009 the exhibition “China Prophecy” examines booming Shanghai as a model for future urbanism. The museum offers frequent free talks by architects and authors.

39 Battery Place. Tel. 212-968-1961. www.skyscraper.org

National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.

It’s fitting that Washington, D.C.’s National Building Museum, created by Congress, should concern itself as much with the future of our built environment as with its past. Exhibitions have addressed new visions for affordable housing, sustainable buildings and cities, concepts for rebuilding New Orleans—as well as the work of master architects like Wright and Saarinen and other historic themes. Through 2011, “Washington: Symbol and City” reveals the tension between the capital’s role as national landmark and metaphor, and its everyday functioning as a place where regular people live. The “Building Zone” is a hands-on exploration space for kids up to 6 years old. The museum occupies one of D.C.’s most spectacular 19th-century structures, modeled after a 16th-century Roman palace designed by Michelangelo.

401 F St., NW. Tel. 202-272-2448. www.nbm.org

Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal

The provocative exhibitions here change often and range widely. Recent ones have explored the history of skylights, actions individuals can take to affect the city, and the architectural innovations spurred by the 1973 oil crisis. The Centre for Architecture occupies a striking post-modern building that wraps around an important 19th-century mansion. It sits in a garden that evokes historical periods of landscape design. Tours of the building (and garden, in summer) are offered daily. On Thursday evenings, there are lectures, screenings and gallery talks.

1920 rue Baile. Tel. 514-939-7000. www.cca.qc.ca

Architecture+Design Museum, Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a fertile incubator of modernism, in both its urban form and its buildings. And this ultra-creative California  metropolis—its evolution, seminal architects, and possible futures—are frequent topics for exhibitions here. Graphic and product design are also explored. Exhibitions change frequently.

6032 Wilshire Blvd. Tel. 323-932-9393. www.aplusd.org

The Heinz Architectural Center, Pittsburgh

This section of the Carnegie Museum of Art has an extensive collection of architectural drawings, prints and models from which its changing exhibitions are drawn. The museum also incorporates the monumental Hall of Architecture, opened in 1907, where more than 140 plaster casts of doorways, columns and other architectural details are displayed. These casts were taken from significant buildings dating from ancient Egypt to the Renaissance.

4400 Forbes Ave. Tel. 412-622-3131. www.cmoa.org

Post based on “The World’s Top Architecture Museums” by Jonathan Lerner.

Motor Home Road Trip Summer 2010 is our newest winner of Trip of the Week and recipient of a Frommer’s day by day guide. Our winner built this road trip, which explores many of the great national parks, on TravelMuse for her family.

The Adorable Triplets!

1. Why are you taking this Trip?

It was truly my triplet’s idea to rent a “car house,” as they call it.  Every time they would see an RV or camper or land yacht drive by, they would get so excited. So, the seed was planted and we started talking to friends who had done similar trips—all with the same reply:”go for it!” So, we decided to take their advice and hit the road!  (The girls turned 8 in June.)

2. What are you most excited about seeing/doing?

We took the trip in July 2010 for 27 days and loved every moment.  From waking up and seeing buffalo in Hayden Valley (Yellowstone, WY) to the spectacular hoo doos of Bryce. The highlights of the trip included the “re-route” from Flagstaff to Sedona for some business I had (Sedona is breathtaking, enchanting and the back country Jeep Tour was beyond exciting for the kids), Bryce Canyon and the Grand Tetons.  The kids would tell you that their favorite part of the trip was living in the car house; going to Sedona; horseback riding in Zion, Utah; and, of course, driving through the herd of buffalo.

Sunrise at Bryce.

3. Any other interesting facts/ considerations about the trip?

RVs are great for family adventures. We’d recommended renting a privately-owned RV (several companies do this). Cost is very good and they are well maintained.  Also, kids love having sleeping options in the RV (over the cab, on the dinette fold out, the pull out couch, back bedroom). Make sure you book your national park reservations in advance, if traveling in the summer: use a GARMIN (life saver) and buy an annual park pass (it’s a huge cost saver!). We’re going to do this again in two years—and have already shared our TravelMuse trip plan (in hard copy print outs and online) with lots of friends and family who want to do the same.

*****

Tell us about your Trips and you could be featured in Trip of the Week–win one of the new Frommer’s Day by Day Guide Books.