Best US City
 

If I could to any major city in the US for a 3-5 day vacation whare should I go ?
Also best city for kids (excluding Orlando)?

Well...gosh. I love Philadelphia for its historic sites and museums and cheesesteaks. But if you haven't been to NYC, that's obviously a must-see. San Francisco is gorgeous and friendly and unlike any other city, topographically speaking. I think kids would enjoy any of those. Where are you traveling from?

The undisputed Greatest City in the World ... <b>New York!</b>

Best for kids but not Orlando? Panama City Beach in the summer.

I'd be inclined to be flip and say &quot;any city in the US with the explicit exception of Orlando!&quot; But I won't. But really, just about any US city can be a wonderful travel experience for kids.

New York, DC, Philly, Boston, all good on the east coast. Chicago is awesome. Kids love San Diego and the greater LA area for having lots of cool stuff to see and do (sorry, LA-haters). San Francisco has a lot going for it, obviously. Seattle, Portland.... great as well.

Depending on the age of your kids - Washington DC. There are so many sites to see - between the monuments and museums. It also makes for a great history lesson.

The city that <b>NEEDS</b> us all the most right now: <b>NEW ORLEANS</b>

Chicago! Chicago! Chicago!

So much to do for adults and kids. Beautiful, clean, exciting, vibrant, friendly city.

Washington, D.C. for you and the kids!

1. San Diego- tons of attractions for kids, beaches, good food etc
2. Hilton Head, SC- great resorts, warm beaches, lots of kid stuff (miniature golf, etc)
3. San Francisco- golden gate bridge, chinatown, museums, etc
4. Chicago- museums/aquarium, cubs game, michigan avenue, disneyquest
5. Las Vegas- you don't have to gamble- MandM museum, water parks, shows, buffets, great swimming pools

New York - something for everyone. In fact more than almost anyplace else for everyone - if you can;t find it here is probably doesn;t exist.

San Francisco or San Diego is fun for kids.
PS~clelbong~ Las Vegas does not have any real &quot;water parks&quot; anymore. Wet-N-Wild was taken down 2 years ago. All we have left are the hotel pools (and one can only use if a guest of that hotel) or the local rec centers...they usually consist of 1 slide for adults and 1 for toddlers.

Washington, DC.

The Smithsonian Museums are FREE!

NYC ALL THE WAY IF U CANT FIND IT THERE ITS NOT ANYWHERE

Waco

I assume we're all in agreement it is of course, Chicago. Glad we got that settled.

;-)

dc, just got back with nine and eleven year old, great time, NOT WACKO...help!

Rajneeshpuram (while you're at it)

San Diego--perfect weather, laid back vibe, right next door to a foreign country, good light rail system, great major league sports (great new ballpark, too in downtown), only 1-1.5 hrs. from the 2nd largest city in the U.S. (thrilling LA of course), the beaches, on and on...

Tampa - nice beaches and roller blading around Tampa Bay is nice

Philly has a lot of activities

San Fran is also cool and has a lot to do.

In no particular order: NYC, Chicago, DC and San Francisco. Not sure how NYC is for kids but the others all have plenty to do for them.

Add Boston. I loved it there, and people with kids told me there is even more stuff to do that I didn't do because no kids at the time.

I would disagree with Las Vegas. I recently read an article that LV is shedding its family friendly image because it didn't bring in the dollars and is going for the sleaze factor. Well, they put it a nicer way in the article.

Not to knock LV -- it's a scene! But I wouldn't post it as a top place to go with kids.

It didn't fix my edits:

&quot;Add Boston. I loved it there. I went before I had children, but since then people with kids tell me that there's even more kid-friendly stuff to do.&quot;

NYC, definitely. You know a city that never sleeps has to have an infinite number of things to do, and it does.

But Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, DC would all fill 5 days easy. So would a lot of cities, really. Shoot, my hometown of St.Louis could, but of course, that's not a place most people would put at the top of a &quot;best&quot; list.

DC!!! Great for kids, even the zoo (with panda cub) is free!

Which major city for a vacation?

As the resident curmudgeon, I'd answer NONE because I can think of NO &quot;city&quot; I'd ever really want to visit!

Give me the beauty of the countryside and the mountains any day over the noise, smells and busy-busy rushing around of a city.

But that's just me!

;)

Vermonter

We just took our kids to NYC and they loved it. (They are 14 and 17 and age will probably play a big part in your decision)

Seattle is one of the best cities I've visited. There are many outdoor activities for the kids. Plus, I think the weather remains very comfortable in the summer.
Have fun!

I love these West coast cities for kids:
Seattle, Portland, San Francisco &amp; San Diego. Great parks, zoo's, museums, walkable area's, dining, entertainment, etc.

Portland, OR - A great zoo, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (lots of hands-on stuff for the kiddies), Hoyt Park Arboretum for some nature, the finest Japanese garden outside Japan, and lots of great food and drink!

Handsdown, San Francisco! I've lived here 21 years, and other than places in Europe, it's absolutely the best city in the US. Beautiful scenery, a short hop to the Wine Country, a foodie's paradise and the most tolerant people I've encountered anywhere outside of Amsterdam.

Lots of great cities, but for 3-5 days nothing beats NYC. If I had one day, I would go elsewhere because I would being going crazy trying to schedule all there is to do and see. For kids, I think I agree with others, San Diego with younger kids (beaches, aquarium, zoo, weather and much more). Washington D.C. a very close second. With teens, I would pick NYC again. And by the way, my daughter absolutely loved NYC when she was 4 (even more than she did D.C. at 6). She wants to go back badly.