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I live in Boston and it gets a heck of a lot colder than NYC in February. Any other time of the year (even a month later in march) I would recommend it. What I suggest instead is Atlanta - yes Atlanta. I hate the city, but I would rent a car and then head to Savannah and Charlston for a few days instead!
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According to www.wunderground.com, which gets its data from the National Weather Service, the average dialy high and low temperatures in February are 39 and 27 degreees F, respectively, in NYC and 38 and 23 degrees F in Boston. Not a significant difference, IMHO.
New York gets and average of 10 inches of snow in Feb and Boston gets 11. As mentioned above, snowfall varies a lot from one year to the next. |
In defense of Atlanta: I lived there 10 years and loved it. That being said, I agree with the priorities of the posters above. the local saying in Atlanta is that it's a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there.
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Boston,Boston, Boston... as visitor from the UK you will have a great exchange rate.. Boston will remind you much of London. We have theatre, museums, fabulous restaurants and of course...great shopping. Boston is also a walking city
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>><i> Boston... as visitor from the UK you will have a great exchange rate..</i> Much better than you would in Philadelphia, of course ;). |
Just in case it matters to you...
Massachusetts schools are usually on vacation the third week in February. Good luck with your decision! |
Anonymous - that commercial is a riot..."there's a lot alot of culture here" "There's cheese steak, and cheese steak and cheese steak" Yeah that's a lot of culture alright.
And who said last winter was mild. I still haven't gotten over the frostbite from that day in January when it was -10F, not counting the wind chill. Ouch. But we have a great city here and Feb is a fine time to visit. Shop on Newbury St, have tea at the Ritz, visit the Isabelle Stewart Gardner Museum, see Blue Man Group, maybe the Boston Symphony Orchestra, dine in the North End, the South End. The MFA etc. Check out citysearch.com. They have a pretty good beat on Boston. |
It's a shame they're not showing the new spoken word commercial that the Philadelphia tourism group has put together in the Boston market. It really showcases an exciting aspect of the city--its nightlife. I love Boston and I really don't want to get into a dissing contest with y'all, but those of you who are ridiculing Philadelphia are not exactly positioning yourselves as In The Know when it comes to culture or fine dining. Philadelphia is one of the few cities that managed to not only sustain but increase tourism in the aftermath of 9/11. And it has recently moved into the top 10 American destinations for European tourists. The music scene here is especially vibrant--this is the city that inspired everyone from The Roots to Jill Scott to Floetry to Eve to Pink to the Fresh Prince. John Coltrane's home is here and has been turned into a museum. David Bowie's Young Americans was not only recorded mostly in Philadelphia, it was influenced by the city's vibe and the old school R & B/soul genre known as The Sound of Philadelphia. Philadelphia artist Virgil Marti, who was chosen by Altoids as an emerging artist of note, still shows his works in Philadelphia galleries. The city is also known as an incubator for design, with a lot of furniture makers and other artisans working here, including the oh-so-chi-chi Lagos label. The city has also really taken off as a film location in recent years, too. The Sixth Sense, Twelve Monkeys, and (bien sur) Philadelphia were all filmed here. Two films just wrapped recently--M. Night Shamalyan's "The Village" and a historical detective story starring Nicholas Cage as, I think, Ben Franklin (yeah, I know, he was born in Boston, but where would he be without Philadelphia?). Right now two others are in the works. Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLain are in town for "In Her Shoes" and Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding, Jr. have been filming scenes for "Shadowboxer". So there :). |
Elle, thanks for saying so eloquently what I was thinking as I read some of the above replies.
Just a few more of my favorite places in Philadelphia~ The University of PA Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, with its incredible collection of Sumerian (and many other) artifacts The Parkway, with the Academy of Natural Sciences and Franklin Institute and the Art Museum and the Library, and dinner at the Fountain (just perfection) Rittenhouse Square and the Shops at Liberty Place for wandering and shopping Ethnic enclaves and neighborhoods that are like small towns unto themselves Wonderfully cozy restaurants for a winter's meal: Fork comes to mind The Arch Street Quaker Meeting House City Hall, a grandiose mass in the midst of the city~tours and a tower view Oh, I could go on, but there's just a bit more here than a bell and cheesesteaks. |
P.S. A good place to look for ideas of what's what in Philadelphia is
http://www.gophila.com/itineraries/ There's even a Kevin Bacon recommended route...one of our boys, of course! |
Wow! I didn't want to start a riot on here!! But thanks again.
The date in February is set in stone as I have to go during our school holidays (which seems the same as yours). I presume that Feb 14th will be President's Day? Secondly, I had no intention of renting a car for use IN Boston. I meant if there was anywhere within the vicinity to visit which needed a car? I suppose in reality, I don't care where we go as I love visiting the US and to just be in the country is enough. I have been invited to give a lecture in San Fransisco in May also. I just wanted to make one more visit before the Visa Waiver System is stopped and then visiting the US would probably be too restrictive (i.e. having to apply in person in London (only) within 1 month of travel and paying $100 each). Which areas of either Philadelphia or Boston are the best to find the better hotels? |
OMG, when I made fun of that TV ad about Philadelphia, I was just mocking the ad, not the city itself! As bennie pointed out, the ad makes cheese steak out to be one of the highlights of the city, which of course is not the case. I had no intention of insulting anyplace, sorry. And congratulations on having an artist who has been honored by Altoids.
In Boston the best area to stay in is Back Bay/Copley. You can find plenty of past discussions about this area and specific hotels. |
Presidents Day is the THIRD Monday in February. If the 14th is a Monday, it must be the second one, and the week of the 21st will be school vacation week for most of the public-school kids in the state. I would avoid vacationing in Boston that week if possible.
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Sorry if you thought we were dissing Philly - its the commercial that's funny - not the city. Maybe you should point out some of these cultural treasures to Southwest Airlines so they don't make your city look so bad.
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In February the weather in BOSTON is brutal and usually snowing--very cold..
as well as Philadelphia... If I had to make a choice, I would do Atlanta OR MIAMI,FT LAUDERDALE OR NAPLES FLA>.. |
AR-
For hotels in Philadelphia, you would want to stay in Center City area. If you give us your budget and your preference (modern vs classic etc), some of us will sure be able to give you some suggestions. Also, a lot of hotels in Philadelphia are in the "stay 1 night, get 2nd night free" deal. The deal pops up from time to time, but I'm dead sure that in both Feb 2003 & 2004 the deal was on-going (a way to attract visitors during the low season). So, if you do decide to go to Philadelphia, you should be able to get 5 nights of hotel room for 4 nights' $. |
Sorry if my feathers got ruffled and hope I didn't ruffle any (egret)feathers in return. I thought you all were agreeing with the commercial (which of course, I haven't seen, since I live in the destination market)--limitations of cyber communications, I guess. I do think it's ridiculous for any destination to promote itself by comparing itself to New York, 'cause New York is one-of-a-kind. And while the Liberty Bell and the cheese steak are iconic, you'd be surprised at how many people DO think that's all there is to the city. (Did I mention that we're heading to Boston for our next vacation? :)) As for Philadelphia hotels, there are some very nice places in the historic district--Penn's View Inn, the Omni, the Inn at Independence Park. Uptown, I like the Sofitel. The Rittenhouse is fabulous but very expensive. One of my favorite hotels in the city is Loew's, which is in a historic 1929 International-style "skyscraper" (well, it was in 1929, but I'd call it a mid-rise today). The building is stunning, the bar is lively, the restaurant's quite good, and the location--while not historic or picturesque--is convenient. |
AR,
If your visit to NY was the coldest you have ever been, multiply that two or three times and that is how cold you will be in Boston! It is truly bone chilling that time of year. Boston is a beautiful, exciting city, esp. in the spring, summer and fall, but not the winter!! Philadelphia's luxury hotels are also less expensive than Boston (as is everything else.) Boston is very expensive. Day trips are easy with a rented car from Phila. You might even want to go to Atlantic City for some gambling while there. It is only one hour by car. As the others have stated, there is MUCH to do in Philadelphia and it will be less bone chilling, although still cold, in February. |
Hi. This is the wife who likes snow, but does not like the idea of being colder than NYC!
There is a possibility that we could go in the last week of October, depending on availability: Does this mean Boston definately? Or does it raise more arguments for Philadelphia? If there's not going to be any snow, could we get 'cheap' internal flights to somewhere hot from Atlanta? Sorry to throw another spanner into the works, but this site never fails to amaze me!! Thanks |
Late October is fabulous in Philadelphia--that's usually when the leaves on the trees change colors. One of my favorite times of year here, really. Atlanta has such a major airport that I would imagine you could get cheap and convenient connections to almost anywhere. |
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