An Urban Vacation

[H0wl]

Any city can make a great urban vacation in that they are all different in their own ways. Certain cities tend to focus more on one aspect of planning and development and less focus on another. In other words, a great urban vacation depends on what you are looking for. In my opinion, I cannot wait to see all of the tourism and economic development of Dubai. In this section of planning and development, Dubai is probably the most exciting city in the world.

[jon/mike]

Top picks for an urban holiday in the US:

1. New York City

2. SanFrancisco

3. Boston

4. DC

5. Philadelphia

6. Seattle

7. Chicago

8. Baltimore

9. New Orleans

And although they are not huge cities, I really love Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah

[runawayjim]

if you come to the northeast on an extended vacation... you can city hop. spend a couple days in philly, then a couple days in NYC, then maybe check out CT's cities (bridgeport, new haven, and hartford are the big 3, with cities like stamford, waterbury, new london, and norwich being smaller), hit up providence, and then end with a couple days in boston. if you're really adventurous, you can even hit up newport, RI, portsmouth, NH, and portland, ME. i think it's the only area of the country where you can easily make a 1 or 2 week vacation and easily hit all the major cities because of how close they are to each other. philly to new york is about a 2 hour drive. you can take the train from new york to bridgeport and new haven (bridgeport is 1-1.5 hour drive from new york, new haven is about half an hour farther). hartford is a 45 min drive from new haven. providence from both new haven and hartford is about a 1.75 hour drive and then boston is an hour train ride or an hour drive from providence. the way i would do it if i had 2 weeks is 2 full days in philly, then head to new york for 3 or 4 full days. i would skip bridgeport and spend a day in new haven and a day in hartford and maybe another day doing something else in CT (lots of small town villages that are quite urban in nature in CT and all over new england). then i would spend a day or 2 in providence and RI and head up to boston for 3 days.

this can all be done without a car by using greyhound or amtrak to get between the cities that don't have commuter rail connections and the commuter rail between those that do (MTA metro north from new york to bridgeport and new haven and MBTA commuter rail from providence to boston).

[lammius]

if you come to the northeast on an extended vacation... you can city hop. spend a couple days in philly, then a couple days in NYC, then maybe check out CT's cities (bridgeport, new haven, and hartford are the big 3, with cities like stamford, waterbury, new london, and norwich being smaller), hit up providence, and then end with a couple days in boston. if you're really adventurous, you can even hit up newport, RI, portsmouth, NH, and portland, ME. i think it's the only area of the country where you can easily make a 1 or 2 week vacation and easily hit all the major cities because of how close they are to each other. philly to new york is about a 2 hour drive. you can take the train from new york to bridgeport and new haven (bridgeport is 1-1.5 hour drive from new york, new haven is about half an hour farther). hartford is a 45 min drive from new haven. providence from both new haven and hartford is about a 1.75 hour drive and then boston is an hour train ride or an hour drive from providence. the way i would do it if i had 2 weeks is 2 full days in philly, then head to new york for 3 or 4 full days. i would skip bridgeport and spend a day in new haven and a day in hartford and maybe another day doing something else in CT (lots of small town villages that are quite urban in nature in CT and all over new england). then i would spend a day or 2 in providence and RI and head up to boston for 3 days.

this can all be done without a car by using greyhound or amtrak to get between the cities that don't have commuter rail connections and the commuter rail between those that do (MTA metro north from new york to bridgeport and new haven and MBTA commuter rail from providence to boston).

[runawayjim]

City hopping seems to be a popular way to go for people visiting from the West Coast or Europe. I met some guys at a bar in NYC who were planning to stop in Philadelphia and DC before returning back to Belgium. Last time I was in Boston I met some guys who were visiting from Denver and had gone to Provincetown and a few other New England spots. It definitely makes sense if you're short on time and make infrequent trips to the region.

AMTRAK and Greyhound are good ways to travel, and you can get from New Haven, CT to Newark Delaware using local rail transit services (Metro-North to NJ Transit to SEPTA)

[lammius]

Yeah it would take you a day to make the trip with all of those transfers. AMTRAK is definitely the way to go. It's just an interesting thought that local services cover such a huge area, and that it COULD be done if you really wanted to try it out. haha. I've made the connection between NJ Transit and SEPTA in Trenton. It's totally seamless. NJT train arrives, you cross the platform, and board the SEPTA train which is there waiting for you. NJ Transit has been trying to get its services to run direct from NY Penn to Center City Philadelphia, but that encroachment on SEPTA's turf won't be tolerated in PA.

[henderson]

I think New York is good because of the amount of attractions located close to each other. Its also a good place to learn about American History. Chicago would also be a nice place but I got a little sacred when I went there because of all high crime areas. Another place I would suggest is the Twin Cites area because its not as crowded as other popular destinations and it has great museums resturants and shopping.

[Twoaday]

For an urban vacation I'd suggest

Seattle - Simply one great urban city. Amazing views, downtown vibrancy, impressive transit build out, fun historic districts like Pioneer Square, great public market

Philadelphia - Great historic urban neighborhoods with homes built to the sidewalk, narrow streets, great urban places.

New York - yup

I hear great things about but haven't visited yet

Portland

Boston

Toronto

[totheskies]

Cool topic, but very HIGHLY subjective as well. I think for me, practically any large city can provide a good vacation experience. There's nothing more that I enjoy than getting lost in the cross cultures within a good city. I can literally entertain myself all day by hopping a few different train/bus routes and seeing where I end up, then trying to get back to the hotel.

That said, some of the favorite "escapes" that I've experienced are:

New Orleans-- perfect example of a confluence of cultures

Memphis

Austin-- my current obsession city

San Diego-- great contrast of neighborhoods north and south of downtown. Through in Coronado, and it's an urbanists' paradise

Chicago-- too much to describe