2.    Eureka Springs, Arkansas:  A really unique place to visit is Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Built on a mountain, many Eureka businesses and homes have as a backdrop a stone mountain.  The Town was originally formed as a tourist town and has remained so to this day.  In the 1800's the springs were discovered and visitors began to come to the area in groves because of the then thought healing powers of the natural springs. Trains brought visitors there by the hundreds in the 1800's and a huge hotel, The Cresent, was built in the 1880's. Horse drawn trolleys were also used.  Today, the Town claims to have only 2000 residents, but to accommodate the visitors it also has many hotels and hundreds of Beds & Breakfast homes. It appears that almost every other home you see offers bed & breakfast lodging.  Many of the homes are Victorian in style and beautiful but quaint.  The Cresent still operates today as do other hotels built in the early 1900's in the main town. The attractions include shops of all types, the Great Passion Play which attracts thousands of people each day, fine restaurants and many of the things you would expect to find in places like Gatlinburg.
The trip is worth the time just to see the Town. Eureka also appears to be the wedding capitol of the South and many couples come there to get married. When we were there in July, 1998, the paper stated there were 238 weddings in 16 days. The location is ideal with or without children.