Flying High: Ten US Cities Worth a Visit And Easy to Get to – Part 2
So last time we checked out some hidden delights in the west of the United States, this time we head over to the country’s Eastern Seaboard.
As I said last time, moving to the United States is a big deal, no doubt about that. In which case, you had better come over here and take a look around.
Personally, I like America off the beaten track. So here a few thoughts on some quirky places for you to come and visit, with all of these cities and their respective hinterlands are easily accessible from Europe.
1. So changing coasts, we still have beautiful blue skies but this time in sunny Florida. In that state we head to the lesser-known delights of Tampa.
You want glitz and glamor then Miami it is; you want craft beer and some beautiful landscapes then this city is for you perched as it is at the mouth of the colossal Tampa Bay, roughly midway up the west coast of the Florida peninsula. No Mickey Mouse here, instead, it has one of the region’s best theme parks: Busch Gardens (buschgardens.com). It’s all thrills and spills on the rides offered the latest being the brutal Cobra’s Curse, just one eight rollercoasters rides to make you scream louder and louder…
Flight: British Airways from Gatwick.
Further information: visittampabay.com; visitflorida.com
2. Further north but still in the Deep South, welcome to Nashville!
The Tennessee capital now has a direct air connection to the UK thanks to British Airways. The airline is bringing tourists into this famous music city where country music is a religion. You can go worship at the legendary Grand Ole Opry (opry.com) or the Ryman Auditorium (ryman.com), to say nothing of the countless late-night honky-tonk bars along Broadway, including the irrepressible Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge (tootsies.net). If you like music well you’ve come to the right place.
No visit is complete without going to the Country Music Hall of Fame (countrymusichalloffame.org). Here Nashville salutes: Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Dolly Parton to Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley to name just a few of the names among a sea of exhibits.
Flight: British Airways from Heathrow.
Further information: visitmusiccity.com; tnvacation.com
3. Still in the South but four hundred miles to the west of Nashville is Charlotte, North Carolina.
Charlotte is by US standards a small city, but one that has much to offer any visitor. Try the NoDa (short for ‘North Davidson Street’), an area synonymous with the local mills all of which are now transformed into restaurants and art galleries. Given Charlotte’s location, it is a great jumping off point to explore the coastline of the American South. Whether its the historic port of Charleston (200 miles to the south), founded in 1670, and forever known as the place where the US Civil War started in 1861, or the rolling sandbanks at Kill Devil Hills (350 miles east), or where the Wright Brothers took off – literally – way back in 1903 (nps.gov/wrbr), Charlotte is a great place and a great base.
Flight: American Airlines (0844 369 9899; aa.com) from Heathrow.
Further information: charlottesgotalot.com; visitnc.com
4. Heading north, up the coast we come to Baltimore, Maryland.
Do you want to know a secret? When travelling to Washington DC, fly to Baltimore instead. It’s cheaper than flying to DC, and yet only 40 miles from the center of the US capital, you can even get there from Baltimore in around 30 minutes by direct train. Not bad!
But don’t rush away just yet! Because Baltimore could win the award for the most over looked city in the northeast of the United States such are its many attractions. A busy sea-port on the Patapsco estuary since 1729, the city is where you’ll find the US National Aquarium (aqua.org), home to over 17,000 creatures and more than 750 species. It is also where Edgar Allen Poe, the Dark Prince of Horror, lived, and you can visit his former home at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, located at 203 North Amity St.. Not sure if the famed raven is still there though.
Flights: British Airways from Heathrow; Icelandair (020 7874 1000; icelandair.com) from Gatwick, Heathrow, Glasgow and Manchester, via Reykjavik; Wow Air (0164 245 0450; wowair.co.uk) from Edinburgh, Gatwick and Stansted, via Reykjavik.
Further information: baltimore.org; visitmaryland.org
5. Onwards, north, and then west through the State of Pennsylvania we come to Pittsburgh.
This former industrial powerhouse has swapped steel for silicon. Walk the streets of Pittsburgh and you’ll see few blue-collar steelworkers and more white-collar employees coming from the bright new offices of Facebook, Uber and Google.
A city of surprises, you’ll start to see, not least finding out it is the birthplace of Andy Warhol. The city has come to celebrate this, nowhere more so than in the Andy Warhol Museum (warhol.org/museum), the largest museum in North American dedicated to a single artist. There are around 900 paintings, 4,000 photographs, 77 sculptures and more than 4,000 of Warhol’s films and videos ranged over 17 galleries. You may need some Campbell’s soup after that!
Flights: Wow Air from Edinburgh, Gatwick and Stansted, via Reykjavik.
Further information: visitpittsburgh.com; visitpa.com
6. Our final stop is way up north at Providence, Rhode Island.
50 miles to the northeast of Boston, over the line in Massachusetts, Providence feels like a quieter alternative to other cities in the region. That’s because the state capital of the USA’s smallest state is a fascinating place in its own right. Providence is home to the Ivy League university Brown, and to the Rhode Island School of Design Museum (risd.edu) with works by Picasso, Monet and Warhol among its 100,000 exhibits. As well as the city’s cultural attractions, this cultured and cultivated air extends to the local food on offer. All of this can make you forget that you are in a destination with less than 200,000 people.
Further information: goprovidence.com; visitrhodeisland.com
Flights: Norwegian from Edinburgh and Belfast.
Okay, that’s it.
Time to book that flight and begin that adventure!
