Stepping down into the Merle Hall Mall basement, one is greeted by the ghosts of former stores and eerie stares from Christmas dolls.

Wave Hill, in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, is a cultural center and botanical garden with a long and lustrous history.

Tucked just minutes from Birmingham Airport, Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens is a hidden 10-acre haven of wildflower meadows, hedged mazes, and birdsong that feels a world away from city life ...