greengiant

My husband and I are planning a 2-night getaway in late October and would love your help figuring out where to go.

We’re from the East Coast and live in Chicago, and we’re looking for quick trip to a place will be charming, feel different from our hometown, have amazing scenery and great food.

We love traveling to Europe and were tempted to do a ridiculously quick trip to Rome or Paris, but decided that was a little ridiculous, so we’re back to the drawing board.

We’ve had great trips in the past to San Francisco, Seattle, LA, Vegas, the Grand Canyon & surrounding parks, and Santa Fe, but want to explore a new place.

We love the scenery of the American West and think it might be a good choice. We’ve been to Park City in the winter and love how its charm and proximity to an airport with direct flights to Chicago, but we’d love to find someplace new.

We’ve spent almost no time in Canada and were considering Toronto or Montreal, but we’re not sure how different or charming they’d be.

We also were thinking about Vancouver, but the return trip feels a little long.

What else? We’re 37 years old and are active people who love to walk and use public transit vs. drive. (We spent 3 great days in LA without touching our rental car, if that tells you anything.) We like both big cities and small towns as long as we can find great food and nice things to see, whether it’s natural scenery or architecture. (We do prefer to be outside, though. We’re not big museum people.)

Thanks for any ideas and opinions you can share!

PeaceOut

Have you ever been to Denver?

greengiant

No, only to change planes. It's intriguing. Does it have a charm factor?

I also just did a quick search and saw someone deciding between denver and portland. Is Portland a city that we should prioritize? (We do love places on the water, as well as mountains...)

PeaceOut

Denver does have a lot of charm, I think, especially in its historic areas and downtown. The people here are very nice, too! Very outdoor vibe in Denver, as well as anywhere in CO.

If you want mountains, though, Denver sits about an hour's drive from them. But there are lots of choices for easy day-trips to the mountains, or for an overnight stay.

Maybe you would like Boulder, as it is located at the base of the Flatirons, and you can easily hike into the canyons. Eldorado canyon is especially interesting. As is Chautauqua Park. Boulder has a young vibe, and lots of fun.

I have never been to Portland, but I know lots of people from here like it.

Daniel_Williams

I like Toronto, but may not have the scenic aspect you wish for... Toronto and Chicago while not identical do remind me a good bit of one another, so it may not be as different-feeling as you'd like.

Montreal to my eyes has a definite different feel from Chicago... it's an older city and being a huge city in French-speaking Canada gives it a vibe unlike other North American cities. While there are some lovely river-views and "mountains" (East Coast bumps in the eyes of a Westerner)surrounding, charming neighbourhoods and leaf-peeping could be good depending how late in October, you may not find Montreal as scenic as what you may be looking for. I thought of Quebec City too, which has charm, a more scenic vantage point of the Saint Lawrence river...and definitely will feel removed from Chicago (but there may not be a direct flight from Chicago, this I don't know). However, a possible concern for the Quebec cities and perhaps even Toronto, is that you could get a cold snap which might not be enjoyable for exploring.

Since you're considering LATE OCTOBER my thought was to think south, two places I thought of were New Orleans and San Antonio. Perhaps not as "scenic" as you'd like, but definitely charming, with different terrain/vegetation from the Great Lakes region, definitely would satisfy the great food criteria...you'd feel displaced from Chicago for sure. I visited both without a car, which fits well with your MO.

Have fun deciding! Daniel

dbdurand

Take a good hard look at Santa Fe, N.M. It has a high charm factor and is in a scenic area. And it's artsy. (Think Georgia O'Keefe). Lots of good restaurants. The Pueblo style architecture will remind you that you're not in Chicago.

PeaceOut

dbdurand is right on. Santa Fe would be a great idea for late October. You don't know what kind of weather you will find in Denver that time of year. Could be warm and sunny, and maybe not.

greengiant

Thank you everyone for the feedback. You do have us pegged. We were in Santa Fe last year and loved it, and also have enjoyed New Orleans : )

We're not afraid of the cold (have loved rome in rainy january weather) so that's definitely not an issue.

We looked at Quebec but the price of flights scared us off. Montreal could definitely be interesting, particularly with such a short visit.

Thanks again!

Any other votes on where we should go?

starrs

What about flying to Jackson, WY? Can't get scenery more amazing than the Grand Tetons.

DebitNM

Fly to Albuquerque, rent a car and drive up to Durango CO. See Mesa Verde National Park and explore the small town with a big heart of Durango. October is THE PERFECT time here.

Lots of threads here for Durango; use the search box above.

Fly Southwest from Chicago to ABQ.

hpeabody

You mention Canada in your title, So what about Victoria BC Canada? Totally charming

starrs

I like the Victoria idea. Totally charming. Stay at the Empress Hotel and go to Butchart Gardens.

irishswampyankee

Second Jackson, WY - western charm, beautiful scenery in GR Teton NP, also close to Yellowstone but you may not have time in 2 days. Other thoughts - Sedona, Seattle, Portland including Colombia River Valley.

CYESQ

Sedona Arizona is charming and quite lovely. Would give you an outdoorsy visit with hiking, jeep rides, etc. For more of a city feel, I agree that Denver is a great choice.

greengiant

This is great, thank you everyone! Would never have thought of Jackson or Sedona, but they sound great. We're also still intrigued by Montreal and Victoria. I'm going to do some research today and hopefully we'll make a decision tonight. Nice to have so many good choices!

sf7307

Sedona's red rocks are gorgeous, but the town itself - nothing charming about it!(there is nothing quaint about so many t-shirt shops). It depends what you're looking for.

How about the mountains near Denver -- some, like the town of Breckenridge, are not a long drive at all. (I would suggest Aspen, but it's a long drive from Denver, so if you're really only going for a couple of days, I wouldn't go there).

tomfuller

I'm with Peace Out on this one. Fly to Denver and drive west on I-70 for less than 3 hours to Glenwood Springs. If you want a little more upscale, head 41 mi. SE of Glenwood to Aspen.
I love the scenery in the Glenwood Canyon along the Colorado River east of the town.