JohnnyBoy

My wife and I are trying to decide on a mid-October weekend escape (three nights).

We would like a romantic location with accomodations $200 or less. Shopping, sights and dining within walking distance. Did I mention romance?

We thought of Charleston. New Orleans, Santa Fe, San Francisco and Victoria, BC have all been great before. Ideally we could fly in and not have to drive too far to arrive at the destination.

Love to read your thoughts and opinions.

kodi

I'm not sure where you are flying from, but if you don't mind cooler fall days, I'd recommend either Montreal or Quebec City. Old MOntreal is beautiful, and very romantic, as is Quebec City.
YOu have the advantage of a good exchange rate against the Canadian Dollar. Good luck where ever you decide to go.

JohnnyBoy

We are flying from DFW. I should have included this in original post.

Thanks for the Montreal/Quebec City suggestion. We will investigate.

ChristieP

Fredricksburg, Texas is excellent in October. There will be the Nights in Old Fredricksburg festivals with concerts, street dances, etc. The shopping there is definitely first-rate, and there are many good restaurants to try, too. If you like museums and WW2, the Nimitz museum is neat. LBJ Ranch is not far out of town, too. There are also several wineries in the area.

No need to fly since it is only a 4-hour drive from Dallas. Go down SH 281 instead of I-35 for a more relaxing drive.

Watsen

Montreal or Quebec City are great choices as well as Victoria. If you go to Victoria I would also plan for sidetrips to Vancouver and Seattle.

JohnnyBoy

Thanks. We will take a look at Fredricksburg. Right in the back yard.

We really enjoyed Victoria last fall but I think we are looking for someplace new.

bennie

October is one of the nicest time to visit Boston. The weather is usually very nice - we call it sweater weather - cool but not cold. The Head of the Charles regatta is held in Boston on Oct 18-19. I believe its one of the largest crew events in the world - 7,000 participants and 300,000 spectators. Its really fun to watch. But there is lots of other stuff to do in Boston also. Shopping, dining, the Freedom Trail etc. Hotel prices for that weekend are a bit steep (some around $220 per night, many more than that).

Another busy weekend in Boston is Columbus Day. There'll be more hotels in your price range on this weekend than the next which is when the Head of the Charles takes place.

Enjoy yourselves wherever you go.

JohnnyBoy

Thanks Bennie. I do really enjoy Boston. I've been there on business. I'll give it a look.

GailLK

JohnnyBoy-I've never been to Victoria, but thinking about going soon. Any hotel and restaurant suggestions? Thanks! Is the Fairmont Empress Hotel really worth the big bucks?

JohnnyBoy

Gail are you hijacking my thread?

We stayed at a b&b off the harbor. It was then called the Holland House. You can read about it on the Fodor's site. It was one of the nicest rooms we have ever stayed in. Comfortable bed, fireplace, jacuzzi. It was true greatness.

We loved Victoria. The Empress was very impressive. We had tea on a Sunday afternoon and in spite of it being on the high side and very touristy we enjoyed it very much.

I'll try to see what I can find on our restaurants. I hope you can go before the end of October. That is when Barb's Fish and Chips closes for the winter. We thought it was great.

Now do you have a suggestion for me?

jb

GailLK

JohhnyBoy-Thanks for your feedback on Victoria and sorry for hijacking your thread, haha. I'd love to try Barb's Fish'Chips, so will get there before the October closing. I've been to Boston many times and enjoy it very much. We stayed in the Sheraton and they have a really nice pool and pretty easy walk to shops and subway, but I don't know if you will get rates under $200 for the weekend since October is Fall Foliage season. I'm heading to Quebec City in a few weeks for the first time so I can't really offer any advice on that destination, but we got a pretty decent AAA rate for Fairmont Chateau Frotenac. How about San Antonio, TX or Sedona or Scottsdale AZ? Maybe there will be some off season rates on hotels. We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country in San Antonio and it has a fabulous "river" pool that is endless. You can just stay in and float for hours..... It's a fairly short drive to downtown San Antonio and the Riverwalk and very close to SeaWorld which I think stays open until Nov 1st. Another nice place is Newport, RI but not sure if it's convenient to fly into. You may need to rent a car from Providence and drive a bit. The mansions along the ocean there are really terrific and there is a very quaint downtown harbor area great for shopping, dining, and strolling. Have a nice time!!!