Philly, Washington DC, Boston or Atlantic City
 

Hey all!!!

My hubby and I are planning a 4 day trip to either Philly, Washington, Boston or Atlantic City at the end of January, beginning of February. We are both Canadian and have never been to either. We will be driving there from NY State. Any suggestions on which city we should visit. We're not crazy into museums, some historic culture is great but we're more foodies and adventure seekers, and sporting event junkies.

Any help or direction you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Perhaps the first step is to Google sporting events happening in the time frame for each location?

Four days in Atlantic City, will make you glad you are Canadian.

In order of which cities are most interesting:
DC
Boston
Philly





AC

"some historical culture is great..."

is the "sports" something besides ice hockey?

I've checked out all 4 cities for sporting events. WE're big hockey fans and incredibly there are no hockey games in either of the cities during the 4 days we are there, so exploring other options.

@Dukey1

You quoting my words to mock me isn't very appreciated or helpful. We are all entitled to our likes and preferences. I apologize that my lack enthusiasm towards historic culture and love for sporting events offends you. Yes and I am Canadian and yes I enjoy a good hockey game, I won't apologize for that. Maybe this isn't the place for you to be helping others with their queries.

all the best,
Lindsay

"end of January, beginning of February."

DC has a lot of museums. You could spend all 4 days seeing them.
There are also historic houses/plantations (Monticello, for example), but weather would likely be a precluding factor, and sights like Ford's Theater which have to do with US history.
Weather is milder than Boston, but snow is perhaps not dealt with as efficiently on the roads.

Boston's principal tourist attraction is probably the Freedom Trail and other Revolutionary War sights. There are some decent art museums (MFA, Gardner, ICA, glass flowers at Harvard), and some others (MOS, Aquarium). There is outdoor and indoor public ice skating in the city. Weather might preclude "adventure" activities nearby, but there is certainly tubing/sledding (at commercial locations that make snow and at public parks).

Both cities have a wide variety of food options and ethnic restaurants.

@SambaChula

Thank you so very much for all your tips, I noted them down and will look into them further, I appreciate your response!!

What are your dates again?

The Caps are playing at home in DC on Feb 1 against the Bruins.

@obxgirl

I know I saw that :( But we need to leave the 1st to head back. So disappointing !

Welcome to Fodors!

Eventually I WILL attempt to answer your question, but I have to say something first.

I've been posting here since 1999, and my responses here have earned me five free books from Fodors. Feel free to check my hundreds of responses over the years -- all of them sincere attempts at helping people know all their options, as well as my choices for best places to meet their desires. It's what you'll find here.

You'll also find attempts at humor -- some good, a lot of it bad. In other words, like most interactions on the Internet. Expect it, even if you don't like it. The "humorist" might be the stupid class clown, or a fellow useful poster who unintentionally veers into the weird side.

Dukey, if you'll check his postings, DEFINITELY falls into the latter group
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...osca-leapt.cfm
If his attempts at humor -- good or bad -- are not what you want, then (IMHO) the best approach is to just ignore them.

Okay, now for MY answers.
As others have noted, just skip Atlantic City. If you are not into gambling, there almost no reason whatsoever to visit this place -- particularly in winter, when the beach is not an option.

> We're not crazy into museums
Then Washington might also be off your list. Its main attraction is the quality of its free museums -- probably the best ratio of quality to cost of any city in the world. There's also monuments, but I'm not sure if those would be of interest to you. There is some great culture in the area, but it's not near the main tourism sites.

> some historic culture is great
> we're more foodies and adventure seekers
Hmmmm. Boston is probably ahead in terms of "historic culture," (as opposed to "history"), but Philly is clearly ahead for food:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/slid...-for-foodies/7
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/sty...merica-ranked/

I'll admit I'm not sure what you mean by "adventure seekers," as that means outdoor activities to me.

You've every right to count me biased, but I think Philadelphia might best meet your needs.

Too bad. The Wizards and Hoyas (college) are fun to watch, they're not hockey though. How unfortunate that the Monster Truck Jam got dropped into the middle of otherwise respectable sports schedules.

@paulrabe

Thank you so VERRRRY much for your long post! It was filled with an immense amount of insight, much appreciated!!! Definitely leaning between Philly and Boston!

Fodors is lucky to have you!

Lindsay

Well, PaulRabe, in that list, Philly came in at #14.
Providence, just a hop, skip and jump from Boston came in at #2, more reason to choose Boston.

I just checked the overall NHL schedule and there seem to be no games scheduled at all on January 27-30. I wonder why?

That time frame is the NHL All-Star break. Happens every year at the end of January.

also....
Somerville, a couple of subway stops from downtown Boston, was named one of the best places to visit in the country by Lonely Planet. It’s on a list of the most “unexpectedly exciting places to see’’ in the U.S. in 2016 on their annual list of “Best in the U.S."
And was listed as a "coolest neighborhood" in:
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nat...k-top-our-list

Bette, I'm a season-ticket holder -- I should know that!!

Philadelphia is a great "foodie" city. Even if you aren't into history there is still a lot to do. The Mutter Museum is very unusual and interesting. Not what you think of when you picture museums.

Where will you be driving from?

Both Philly and Boston are good cities for foodies and some historic sites. Weather may be a factor in both driving and site seeing.

Philly often has hotel deals with free parking. check the site visitphilly.com it's the official tourism site and you can also check for events.

the pros are not playing in the NHL that week, but you may want to see if there are any college games that would interest you. Also you can see if there are any NBA games on if you like basketball.

I would definitely take Atlantic City off the list.