Suggestion for US City Break as alternative to NYC?
 

We?ve been to NYC twice now, but have not been anywhere else in the US.

We like a little arts and shopping, like to walk and see nice architecture and also love parks and on an evening love to sit in a neighbourhood bar and get to know the locals.

What are your recommendations for a 5-7 day US City break other than NYC?

I guess the obvious East Coast choices are Boston, Philadelphia or Washington, DC. All have what you're looking for, but for some reason when I read your post, Philadelphia sprung to mind. We're really enjoyed our visits there.

Or if you're willing to fly a bit further, Chicago is a wonderful city - we go as often as we can.

San Francisco or New Orleans depending on the time of year(avoid New Orleans in the hottest months: June/July/Aug/Sept). Either of these cities will more than meet all of your requirements. These are both "must visit". After you've been to both, consider also DC, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia - in that order. Philadelphia and DC would make a good two-city combo for a one-week visit and are 2 hours apart by train (though DC could also be done for a whole week).

Many choices obviously but I'd think about Boston, Washington DC, or especially Chicago.

Flying from the UK to the west coast takes much longer (9 hours v. 6) and jetlag is more of a problem, but if you can manage it, San Francisco is an excellent idea, or, not US but well worth the effort, Vancouver BC.

I'd suggest San Francisco for a 5 to 7 day visit. Plenty of nice restaurants, public areas, and neighborhoods to explore that vary from one another. A day trip to the wine country of either Napa or Sonoma also adds a nice change from the city environment.

However, you might want to read the post about SF weather before deciding when to go as August can be fairly cold.

New Orleans is a great place to visit and one of my favorite spots in the US. However, 5 to 7 days might seem like a long time there as the French Quarter is relatively small and frankly anyone who isn't native, could suffer serious physical consequences from prolonged exposure to rich food and plentiful alcohol!

If you had the ability, a trip of say 3 nights in New Orleans and 4 in San Franciso would make for a pleasant holiday. But, that would require taking part of your time away from being a tourist to being a traveler.

Best choice would be San Francisco.

Good alternate is Chicago.

Another vote for boston!
We stayed in an apartment on Beacon Hill it was a great location.
Very walkable city and easy to get to outlying attractions by public transport. The J.F.K. Museum was a must. Wherever you go I'm sure you will enjoy it , such a big country so many places!

Philadelphia. Direct flights, plus world-class culture, five centuries of interesting architecture, good shopping, awesome dining, lovely parks, plenty of neighborhood bars (be careful of the "locals" though).

It's a very walkable city, although you may want to rent a car and venture out to some of the suburban sights like the incredible concentration of Impressionist art at the Barnes Foundation or the du Pont family homes and gardens in the Brandywine Valley.

The Philadelphia Art Museum and nearby Rodin Museum are exceptional; somewhat less traditional is a tour of the massive, early 19th century Eastern State Penitentiary, which Charles Dickens condemned as one of the worst hellholes (my words, I'm sure his were more eloquent) of its day, but it is an architectural and engineering marvel (you can also see Al Capone's cell).

Philadelphia also has a new performing arts center, the Kimmel Center, designed by Rafael Vinoly. The Loew's Hotel at 12th and Market is in a building that's an icon of the International Style, designed by Lescaze and Howe in 1929.

There are neighborhood walking tours. One can also rent bikes or rollerblades to explore Fairmount Park.

I'd be happy to help with specific questions. It's a little hard for me to be objective about the city as a tourist attraction because I live there, but some other posters (I'm thinking of Scarlett) have recently visited and posted very appreciative reports. If you do a search, those posts may give you some ideas.

Another vote for Chicago!!! Great shopping, museums and food. We love to walk too and it is fantastic for that. Chicago is great for a couple or a family. Plenty of things to do. In case you can't tell..... I just LOVE Chicago......Vacationmom

Another vote for Philadelphia. It has lots of little boutiques for shopping (and clothes are tax free!), and great architecture. It is very walkable and you don't really need a car in Philadelphia unless you go out of town. Lots of great restaurants (and lower prices than NYC).

5-7 day may be a bit too many to be in just Philadelphia, but you can either: take a side trip to NYC or Washington DC (both short train ride from Philadelphia), or rent a car and head out to the Amish Country.

I think 5-7 days is way too long for Philly (I lived there 3 years for school). It is more of a nice weekend getaway. However, a Philly to DC trip could work. Boston is a nice smaller city, and very walkable, but I don't think of as a full week trip.

I should note that I live in NYC, so those trips are inherently weekend trips for me, so I don't know if that affects my view.

In the end, I just think that San Fran and Chicago have more of what the OP talked about, and are more "full week" destinations.

San Francisco. It's consistently been one of the world's top destinations.

My vote is for Chicago. Great city -- nice hotels, lots of shopping, architecture (they have excellent tours you can take), world-class museums, etc.

Boston is great as indicated by other posters. But it's also a short drive to Cape Cod or Cape Ann if you feel the need to walk in the sand and gaze at the ocean.

Boston can easily be a week if you include Cambridge/Harvard and then some of the sights up on the North Shore (Marblehead, Gloucester, Rockport) or in the western suburbs (the DeCordova Museum, Lexington-Concord, Wayside Inn).

Sounds to me like Boston fits all of your criteria the best. You might try a few nights in the city and a few nights in surrounding areas (North Shore!) San Francisco is my 2nd favorite City in the USA. Again, I would suggest a couple of days out of the city - maybe wine country. Have fun.

All of the suggestions you've received are great but I think Chicago best fits the bill. You'll have no trouble filling your time there. What a fantastic city.

>Message: Philadelphia. Direct flights, plus world-class culture, five centuries of interesting architecture....<

500 years of architecture in Philly??

Hmmm, specifically that said five centuries of architecture, so from the 1600's to the 2000's...five centuries are covered. (And, of course, at the wonderful U of PA Museum of Archaelogy and Anthropology and the Art Museum, you have bits of many more centuries.)

I was going to suggest Philadelphia as well; I'm not sure when "vacationdreams" came to school here, but 5 to 7 days is not too long at all to experience the history and living culture of Philadelphia and its surroundings.
From the bizarre (Mutter Museum, South Street) to the beautiful (Fairmount Park, the Wissahickon, Society Hill, and so on) there's a lot to see and do.

Since you're accustomed to New York, my initial response is that Chicago has the mass, the class and the amenities. Washington DC and San Francisco are two of my favorite cities, but I've never tried visits of 5-7 days.

San Francisco has ambiance that many people like but, personally, I think Washington, DC, is the most interesting US city. I prefer it to New York, by the way.

DC has a thriving theater scene. While it cannot rival New York, there is still plenty going on to keep anyone interested in the arts very busy.

If you can get a ticket to any play directed by Michael Kahn at The Shakespeare Theatre, go! Kahn's company is the premier Shakespeare Company in the US and it is in DC! In Faux's opinion, it's only rival is the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. The Royal Shakespeare Company in England has funding problems and is not what it once was.

While Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia are interesting, I would still pick DC. Strange to say, Faux has never been to New Orleans (but it is on the list).

If you want to consider Canada, I would think about Toronto. Toronto has a thriving theater scene and you can even take day trips to the Shaw and Stratford Drama Festivals during the summer.

I would second or third all the suggestions of New Orleans. Someone posted that they thought that 5-7 days was too long to spend there, but I disagree. You could easily spend that long in the French Quarter, which is full of beautiful architecture, but to fully experience the city, you have to get out of the Quarter at some point. New Orleans has some very good museums, lots of unique shopping, and very friendly locals...and let's not forget about the food! There are also plenty of plantations to tour within an hour's drive of the city.

"We like a little arts and shopping, like to walk and see nice architecture and also love parks and on an evening love to sit in a neighbourhood bar and get to know the locals."

Sounds like Chicago to me! I think Chicago is an amazing city, and generally underrated. The River boat architecture tours, the lakeside parks, the great neighborhoods, shopping on Michigan, the Art Institute. Perfect!

(I love New Orleans, but its not in the same class. Also love Washington DC, but neither of those two have the variety of Chicago. IMHO)

Vera

I'd also vote for Chicago based on the criteria you listed, but also because it is quite different from cities in the UK and Europe. The fact that so much of it burned down in 1871 makes the city center very interesting architecturally. It's almost all been built in the last 130 years. Chicago had the first skyscraper (not very tall by today's standards). Some of the greatest architects in the first part of the 1900s, including Frank Lloyd Wright, and his mentor, Louis Sullivan, did their work in Chicago. It's a big city with well-planned and interesting modern style buildings.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise is excellent. I have also enjoyed a trip out to Oak Park to see FLW's old stomping grounds. Chicago has some world-class museums including the Art Institute and the Museum of Science and Industry. The best meal I've ever had was at Everest in Chicago. Another big plus is the good public transportation system. You can get anywhere I've mentioned without having to drive a car.

This is sounding like I work for the Chicago tourist board, but I live in a small Colorado town, and have never lived in Chicago. I love art and architecture, as well as good food, so it makes Chicago a perfect place to visit. I have found the Michelin Green Guide to Chicago very helpful while visiting.

Chicago is a fun place, but I'd give the edge to Philadelphia, if only because it seems you can get to a lot of other interesting places -- seashore, Washington, DC, mountains, etc. -- for day trips if you want to take a break from the city. Boston has appeal for the same reasons, although it's a little more remote than Phila.

My vote goes to New Orleans. While Philly, Chicago and Boston are all great cities, they are more like NYC than NO.

New Orleans has great antique shops, great shopping, great food, great music. It is also much more laid back than the other cities and just so much fun. (NYC is my favorite city in the world, but I love NO because its so different.)

Please let us know where you decide to go!
Suse

I live in SF and obviously would pick my own town, but I would also recommend Chicago for all the reasons that previous posters have stated. But as an ex pat Brit I would also add that it is interesting because Chicagoans are different from New Yorkers and it would be interesting to experience people from America's heartland. I don't know how to put it exactly but Chicago is a quintessentially American city to me, it is not comparable to any European city (like SF or Boston) or greatly influenced by any other culture (like NO or Miami). Just my 2 cents.

Amy - I went to school in Philly 3 years ago. It is a nice city, and very liveable, but IMHO just not as much to see for a full week as SF or Chicago especially based on the OP's description of looking for an alternate to NYC.

The next closest city to NYC in terms of energy of the city and things to see and do would be Chicago. You could easily spend a week there and not see it all. I also like Phiadelphia a lot. It's like a mini-Manhattan. Philly has plenty as well for a week. I would also combine a side trip to Amish country in Lancaster County, about 60 miles outside of Philly. Philly has excellent museums, restaurants, shopping, and of course history.

I live in SF, but spending a week here would be too much time. SF a smaller city, about 1/2 the size of Philadelphia and similar in size to Boston. It's okay for maybe a 2 day trip. Other cities in California to consider are Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose. f you fly into San Jose, you could also take a drive over to Monterey, Carmel, and down the coast to Big Sur, which is spectacular. Another fun place would be Las Vegas, if you are looking for something different.

I'll admit that I haven't been in Philadelphia since a school trip (liberty bell, independence hall, science museum) in the late 80's but it is one of those places that are close to home that I've wanted to visit for a while. I have been to the wonderful gardens in the brandywine area which is not far from philadelpia and think that a week trip divided between philadelphia and a nice bed and breakfast or hotel near longwood, winterthur, nemours... (pennsylvania, delaware). In a week you could combine philadelphia, washington, and the garden regions really nicely. You would have to do research into whether or not you could do this without a car.

Permit me to suggest Montreal or Toronto, although of course neither is in the US. They are very suited to what you want, though.

As a fellow Brit I would suggest San Francisco. One of my favourite places in the world.

The extra flying time is more than worth it and you can easily fill a week with a variety of activities. I've been on a number of occasions and still find new things to do/see every time I go.

I'm also a big fan of Vancouver (if you wanted to go there a UK company called Canadian Affair has direct flights from a variety of UK airports at much cheaper prices than Air Canada and so on. We've been to Vancouver twice and are planning to go back next year.

I wasn't so keen on Toronto but that could be because I had a stinking head cold when we were there!