3-Nights Hampton Inn Lake Havasu City from $186

This relatively new town on the border with California (established in the mid-1960s) is home to—of all things—the London Bridge. It all came about when the bridge (then still in England) was put up for sale in 1967. The structure (built in 1831) was sinking and no longer able to support high volumes of traffic. One of Lake Havasu's founders bought the bridge and spent a fortune having it moved brick by brick to Arizona, where it became the centerpiece of the new community. If nothing else, Lake Havasu City provides the spectacle of a grand old-world structure that seems like a hallucination in the middle of the desert. Some English-themed shops, buses and phone booths have been added to make the bridge feel more at home.

Three periods of the year are especially noteworthy in Lake Havasu City, and you may want to avoid them or enjoy them, depending on your perspective. Expect rowdy spring-break parties to erupt in the month of March. In the summer, the city is sometimes the hottest place in the nation, with temperatures occasionally reaching more than 120 F/50 C. Finally, a popular Festival of Lights takes place late November to mid-January. Bird lovers will enjoy visiting nearby Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, which extends across the border and into California. 200 mi/325 km northwest of Phoenix.