Best city in the U.S. to visit?

Blani · 03-01-2013 7:04pm #1

Hi guys,

I've won a holiday voucher for a grand and can use in the U.S or Canada. I was thinking of going in March for about 7-10 days and combining it with Paddy's Day. I've been to New York and Toronto so want to explore somewhere else. Was thinking Chicago or Boston or maybe both if I can stretch my savings. Heard some bad things about Chicago though. If you have any suggestions please share.

Thanks.

BuffyBot · 03-01-2013 7:15pm

Personally, I quite like Chicago and never felt that at risk in it, even in the out of town areas.

However, define best? What are you interested in seeing/doing/experiencing? Best is an entirely subjective thing, so unless you narrow it down people can't really help you.

ABEasy · 03-01-2013 7:21pm

Vegas!!!

Blani · 03-01-2013 7:51pm

Sorry, should have been more specific. I'm looking for somewhere with interesting architecture, good museums, art galleries and plenty of sights such as parks, monuments etc.

I'm not so much keen on high end shopping, prefer the likes of flea markets and second hand shops. Not a big nightlife person so don't care too much about clubs but would like good restaurants and hip pubs.

cee_jay · 03-01-2013 7:56pm

Blani wrote: »

Sorry, should have been more specific. I'm looking for somewhere with interesting architecture, good museums, art galleries and plenty of sights such as parks, monuments etc.

I'm not so much keen on high end shopping, prefer the likes of flea markets and second hand shops. Not a big nightlife person so don't care too much about clubs but would like good restaurants and hip pubs.

What about San Francisco?

Blani · 03-01-2013 8:19pm

Just turned on RTE 1 and they're reviewing Chicago on Getaways. Must be a sign!

a posse ad esse · 03-01-2013 8:30pm

Why not Montreal and Boston? I liked Boston very much and the history is interesting. Montreal is North America's most European city. In fact now that I moved here months ago I am thinking of making it my permanent home. It has the best of Europe and North America in one place. They are both in close proximity and you can get there in 7 hours by car or one hour by plane.

I liked San Francisco but it was rather expensive, so if you are on a budget that might not be the best place to go to. I have not been to Chicago but if you want to know what US city I visited that is my favourite it has to be New Orleans! They have everything from culture, history, good musuems, fine restaurants and the people are among the friendliest and most hospitable.

SHOVELLER · 03-01-2013 8:50pm

New York City

beachhead · 03-01-2013 9:13pm

You should consider Philadelphia
Its got connections to American history and cinema.Georgian(streets)architecture and modern buildings.The city has got a compact centre with museums,universities,markets,parks within walking distance.People walk around it at night too.They like their spicy food but try the Philly steak.Atlantic City is easy to get to from there for casino gambling.

avalon68 · 03-01-2013 10:27pm

Washington DC. Loads of museums (free), lots of historically significant things to go and see. Great city to visit.

athtrasna · 04-01-2013 12:34am

I love Chicago BUT for an amazing, charming, not huge city I'd choose San Antonio in Texas. Absolutely loved it. Did a day trip to the LBJ library in Austin which was fascinating too.

BuffyBot · 04-01-2013 12:36am

D.C. is definitely one to consider, and often overlooked. Chicago/NY/SF have all the things you list too

Blani · 04-01-2013 3:02am

Thanks so much everyone for your feedback. Will take all of them into consideration.

nocoverart · 04-01-2013 3:08am

Salt Lake City FTW! give the old liver a break and rest up with boredom for 10 days. Could do with that myself after the Christmas onslaught.

spideog7 · 04-01-2013 3:33am

nocoverart wrote: »

Salt Lake City FTW! give the old liver a break and rest up with boredom for 10 days. Could do with that myself after the Christmas onslaught.

Salt Lake City has some pretty decent micro breweries actually. As for boredom yea the city isn't up to much but one word... Rockies.

Hands down one of the nicest parts of the US I've been too. The Rockies are magnificent any time of year, they have the greatest snow on earth if you're into skiing, endless hiking in the Summer and beautiful colours in Autumn when the quaking aspen begins to change. There's tons of history too in what is essentially the wild west, not forgetting the impressive wildlife.

Not to mention that you're within a days drive of Yellowstone, The Tetons, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, The Grand Canyon...

To the OP if you've never been too the Rockies put it on your list, if you're just looking for cities, I've heard Denver is pretty nice but I've never been. Chicago is nice but I'm not sure what I'd do there for a week.

Killer Wench · 04-01-2013 4:33am

New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Just don't go alone.

http://www.bestneworleanshotels.com/

faceman · 04-01-2013 2:01pm

Chicago is amazing and it has the added benefit of direct daily flights

Plenty of museums, theatres, attractions and there's always a buzz for Paddy's day there.

Never heard a bad story about the place, what did you hear?

avalon68 · 04-01-2013 2:57pm

spideog7 wrote: »

Salt Lake City has some pretty decent micro breweries actually. As for boredom yea the city isn't up to much but one word... Rockies.

Hands down one of the nicest parts of the US I've been too. The Rockies are magnificent any time of year, they have the greatest snow on earth if you're into skiing, endless hiking in the Summer and beautiful colours in Autumn when the quaking aspen begins to change. There's tons of history too in what is essentially the wild west, not forgetting the impressive wildlife.

Not to mention that you're within a days drive of Yellowstone, The Tetons, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, The Grand Canyon...

To the OP if you've never been too the Rockies put it on your list, if you're just looking for cities, I've heard Denver is pretty nice but I've never been. Chicago is nice but I'm not sure what I'd do there for a week.

Salt Lake City has some magnificent scenery alright, but the city itself is pretty dead unless you happen to be there with a conference or something, or are there for the skiing. The breweries are pretty cool......the only thing I drank there and didnt like was Polygamy beer

Just tried it for the name really. If you do go there, be sure to check out the morman temple - its well worth a visit! Do the roof tour - the views are amazing from up there. And they dont ry and convert you which is a plus

Chicago is a pretty nice city too, but as mentioned - not sure what you would do for a week there really. I was there for a weekend and pretty much saw everything. For me, DC was the most interesting place Ive visited there. The museums are fantastic and admission is free. Lots of trendy bars and restaurants, plus so many landmarks to see there too. The Lincoln memorial is great to see up close. Plus if you do go, take a trip to arlington to the military cemetery - it really puts war into perspective. While in there you cant see an end to headstones in any direction. You can also check out JFKs grave if so inclined.

Blani · 05-01-2013 2:40am

Just heard from a few of my Mam's friends that there were some very dangerous parts but of course that's the same in most big cities. My Dad drove around with my cousin and didn't get a great feel to it. Maybe they're just both trying to turn me off

That's why I wanted a few more opinions.

Savman · 05-01-2013 11:09am

Don't think I could choose a "best city" - its horses for courses. NY is NY, Chicago is nice if you want a less mental city than NY, but a week is a lot tbh.
Vegas is great but 7 days would have you pulling your hair out as casino dementia kicked in, you'd also spend a silly amount of money most likely.

LA is good for cruising but San Fran ticks most boxes. I loved the Rockies personally but it wouldn't be your typical big city experience.

You also got Memphis or Nashville if you are into music (New Orleans I'd skip in all honesty).

snubbleste · 05-01-2013 11:19am

Honolulu!

hyperborean · 05-01-2013 11:23am

San Francisco is my favorite and one I would go back to time and again.

Savman · 05-01-2013 12:24pm

snubbleste wrote: »

Honolulu!

I think we have a winner!

crockholm · 05-01-2013 12:45pm

Chicago is cool, the biggest parade is the week before st pats day, down in the irish enclave, western ave between 87th and 111th st, crazy times, would not reccomend going too far east of western, west is ok, plus the city centre "loop" is amazing, kicks nyc's ass in terms of skylines
boston is meh...cold people there
Denver is great too and they're all stoned too
SF is amazing, but bum/hobo central, real pain in the ass for residents who pay 750k for a condo and mr. T. Ramp is taking a poo outside your door.

Fr Tod Umptious · 05-01-2013 12:55pm

Killer Wench wrote: »

New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Just don't go alone.

http://www.bestneworleanshotels.com/

Anytime but Mardi Gras actually, its far to busy that week.

Op may I suggest Savanna Georgia.
It has lots of history, obviously covering the old south and the us civil war, lots of green spaces, the weather will be nice, and they have a big St. Patrick's day festival that had been established for years.
May be easy to get to as Delta fly direct from Ireland to Atlanta

DaisyD2 · 05-01-2013 3:00pm

Great suggestions & if I might add a further an idea to look at.

You said you won a €1000 voucher - congrats btw - it would easily cover a flight to US & train pass, have you looked at them?

My friend & I did an Eastern rail journey on Amtrak (got pass with USIT but booked our own flights & accomadation separate) - Many Many Moons ago - hopping on & off as we went. Started out in Penn Station, NY, Stayed in Kampgrounds of America (KOA) outside Washington DC with direct bus to all the sights, on to Richmond, Virginia where my friend near throttled me over the amount of museums (especially after Washington), before stumbling into Gary Oldman & Christian Slater filming in Mayors residence (doubled as Whitehouse!), met lovely couple on their way to bike rally so we made that our next stop in Colonial Williamsburg, fabulous place I can't recommend highly enough as hidden gem, back on train to Savannah, Georgia which I just fell in live with its quirky charm & after missing train to Jacksonville, Florida we ended up on a Greyhound Bus (not for faint of heart, I was sure we would die on it!) through Atlantas hub down thru Dublin, GA to our final destination in New Orleans to only place we had prepaid & treated ourselves to good Hotel for final 4 days, flew back through Chicago to Dublin.

Truly a holiday of a lifetime & at the time it was about £1000punts. Well worth looking into & Amtrak have different prices for different zones. Also I've done many Camper/RV holidays (American Holidays) both US & Canada, absolutely amazing driving through Rockies as somebody else mentioned. Just be careful of opening/closing dates of some of the parks, for instance north Rim of the Grand Canyon may not open til May due to snow

InTheTrees · 07-01-2013 4:44pm

New Orleans.

There's nowhere in the US quite like it. The architecture is stunning. Its a major US city where they haven't knocked down the old buildings and they embrace the history. The music and the food and the night life are unique too. The people are incredibly friendly, the climate is usually warm or hot. It has a really colourful caribbean history, a little more french than the north.

You can get to Boston anytime, or Chicago too. But New Orleans is a little bit different, a little bit harder to get to. And way more interesting I think.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=29.957958,-90.064676&spn=0.001557,0.00257&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=29.958009,-90.06475&panoid=_MsxgzxF4bEDiHspDkuS4g&cbp=12,133.02,,0,-1.6

Fr Tod Umptious · 08-01-2013 6:05pm

InTheTrees wrote: »

New Orleans.

There's nowhere in the US quite like it. The architecture is stunning. Its a major US city where they haven't knocked down the old buildings and they embrace the history. The music and the food and the night life are unique too. The people are incredibly friendly, the climate is usually warm or hot. It has a really colourful caribbean history, a little more french than the north.

You can get to Boston anytime, or Chicago too. But New Orleans is a little bit different, a little bit harder to get to. And way more interesting I think.

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=29.957958,-90.064676&spn=0.001557,0.00257&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=29.958009,-90.06475&panoid=_MsxgzxF4bEDiHspDkuS4g&cbp=12,133.02,,0,-1.6

Agree 100%, it has something that no other US city has or will ever have.

I've been twice and will certainly go again

Killer Wench · 09-01-2013 3:48am

The reason New Orleans is getting such grand reviews is because it is considered the most "European" of all major cities in the US.

8-10 · 09-01-2013 3:56am

Blani wrote: »

Sorry, should have been more specific. I'm looking for somewhere with interesting architecture, good museums, art galleries and plenty of sights such as parks, monuments etc.

I'm not so much keen on high end shopping, prefer the likes of flea markets and second hand shops. Not a big nightlife person so don't care too much about clubs but would like good restaurants and hip pubs.

Philadelphia. Based on that description it's the best fit I can think of. Have been to cities in over 25 different States and lived in Philly for a while so know it well. If you decide to go and need tips, feel free to PM me.

Answer based on thread title alone is definitely Vegas though...

Gandhi · 10-01-2013 5:03am

I'd also say Philly fits your needs pretty well. Its close enough to do a side trip to Washington DC for a day or two. Boltbus or Megabus are the best bets for a cheap ride.

For architecture, check out philaphilia.blogspot.com and phillyskyline.com for a good primer. The biggest museums are probably The Constitution Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the most recent addition is The Barnes Foundation ($25 Billion art collection that spent the last few decades in some crazy dead rich guy's house). The old section of the city (known as Olde City) is like a giant outdoor museum as much of the area is unchanged since the days when Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington hammered out the constitution there. More information on museums is at visitphilly.com

Best city in the U.S. to visit?

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