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Two dozen white-columned antebellum mansions and other historic homes of Natchez, Miss., will be open to the public during the city’s annual Spring Pilgrimage, March 10-April 14.

The homes include house museums such as Stanton Hall and the House on Ellicott Hill, along with private homes such as Green Leaves, built in 1838 and filled with antiques, heirlooms and history, including a bullet hole above the front door that dates to Reconstruction. Hosts dress in period costume to greet their visitors. The homes on the tour are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; some are also National Historic Landmarks.

Visitors can select three house tours for $24 or four house tours for $32.

For details about tickets, tours and accommodations, contact Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, www.natchezpilgrimage.com or 800-647-6742.

Best Caribbean resorts for families listed

A beach resort in Puerto Rico topped a list of best places for families to stay in the Caribbean based on rankings by readers of Travel+Leisure Family magazine.

The list of the 10 best tropical destinations appears in the magazine’s spring issue. Here are the top five:

Las Casitas Village &Golden Door Spa in Las Croabas, Puerto Rico, was in the No. 1 spot (www.lascasitasvillage.com), with doubles from $269. Activities include family golf clinics; horseback riding; and kayaking in the bioluminescent bay, where you’ll see glowing sea creatures on moonless nights.

Next was Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands (www.beaches.com), from $410 per day for adults, children $95, rates all-inclusive. Kids will love the swim-up juice bar, Xbox stations and water park.

No. 3 was the Four Seasons Great Exuma at Emerald Bay in the Bahamas (www.fourseasons.com), doubles from $495. Its offerings include kite-flying, a teen center, and parent-child golf and tennis clinics.

Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas took the No. 4 spot (www.atlantis.com), with doubles from $370. Swim with the dolphins and enjoy the 97-acre waterscape (with slides).

Paradisus Puerto Rico Resort in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, was next (www.puertoricoparadisus.com), adults from $406, children from $150, rates all-inclusive. Take tennis, golf or merengue lessons.

Favorite celebrity hot spots

Where does Jackie Chan go for breakfast in his hometown of Hong Kong?

What’s Kevin Costner’s favorite place to have dinner when he’s at his ranch near Aspen?

What club does Gloria Estefan recommend in Miami?

You’ll find sightseeing suggestions from these and many other stars in “Celebrated Weekends: The Stars’ Guide to the Most Exciting Destinations in the World,” by Mark Seal. The $24.99 paperback (Rutledge Hill Press) is based on Seal’s columns for American Way, American Airlines’ magazine, in which he interviewed movie stars, singers and other stars about favorite places in their hometowns.

When in Hong Kong, try karaoke at the Green Box, Chan told Seal. For breakfast, the comedic stunt star likes the small shops in the city’s Whampoa area. For sightseeing, Chan recommends taking a tram or bus up to Victoria Peak, or the Star Ferry to Kowloon.

Costner’s recommendations for dining out in Aspen include Cache Cache, Woody Creek, Little Annie’s, Kenichi, Takah Sushi and Syzygy. He says he likes to hear music at the Wheeler Opera House, go rafting at the Roaring Fork River and go fishing at the Frying Pan River.

Estefan’s top spots in Miami include dinner at Larios on the Beach in South Beach, live Latin music at Mango’s, breakfast at the News Cafe and shopping on Lincoln Road. She also recommends taking a stroll in Little Havana and a cruise in the bay.

Blast off from Hawaii

An Oklahoma-based aerospace company wants to use Hawaii as its launching pad to send intrepid tourists up 330,000 feet to the edge of outer space.

Rocket plane Kistler Inc. hopes to start testing modified business jets next year that would take off from a commercial runway and then use rocket packs to carry them into space. The company is looking to have the rides up and away by 2010 with tickets initially costing about $250,000, according to The Honolulu Advertiser.

But those plans remain a long way off from reality.

Still needed are full financing for the venture and an official commitment of support from the state.

Rocketplane Kistler is one of a small number of companies planning to enter the space tourism market. Richard Branson’s Virgin galactic is looking to flying tourists from New Mexico to space’s frontier starting in 2009.

Travel classes, seminars

Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door offers free travel classes from 10 to 11:30 a.m. most Saturdays at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.