A question for the non-US X-Markers...

[Sir William]

You seem to be tending east so for that part of the trip at least I'd recommend NYC or Washington DC for the US urban experience. With any sort of sane behaviour on the part of visitors, both are tourist-safe and -friendly and it would be easy to see everything in either place if you had a year- I'm implying there is no lack of things to do. Boston is almost perfect too but perhaps a little small for a once in a lifetime visit scenario.

On terms of your visit, I wouldn't go to upstate NY myself: depending on the time of year and the distance I wanted to go, I'd visit Vermont and/or New Hampshire. But I acknowledge a heavy bias in that regard.

My hypothetical European couple will be able to go where ever they want and are not limited to any coast or region. East, West, South, North, or anywhere in between (except for Hawaii and Alaska). Everyone has their own interests, which is partly why I'm asking. Having lived and traveled throughout the US, what I'd put together might not be what a European couple would want to see.

[nloken]

I went to America quite a few years ago for a fortnight. We had a rather busy schedule, but it was a great experience to see many different and contrasting parts of the country in one go. We naturally chose our stops from specific things we wanted to see, like Graceland for example, which might not be of interest to all. We had two-three nights in all the major cities we visited. This is what we did:

- Flew in to Boston, rented a car and did a day-trip down towards Fall River.
- Train to New York. Although a couple of days only let us skim the surface, it was an absolute "must" on our list.
- Train further down to DC. Congress, White House, Arlington etc...
- Flew to Memphis. Day-trip to Graceland!
- Flew down to New Orleans.
- Flew to Las Vegas. Very touristy, but worth the visit. Rented a car here.
- Drove to the Grand Canyon and took a heli-tour there. Drove around the whole canyon crossing at Ferry-something (I think?) and back towards Vegas.
- Bypassed Vegas and went through Yosemite on our way to the coast stopping at Lee Vining for the night in a rented house.
- Continued driving to the coast, hitting highway one and going up to San Fransisco for the final days before flying back home.

The great thing about this trip was experiencing the differences in culture as we crossed the country. Naturally there are many more things to see and do, and we only got to get a little taste of each place. Did leave me wanting more, though...!

[Chas]

Ignoring all the 'Entertainment' sites (Disney, Epcot, et al), what would interest me is all the places that we see on TV and in the movies. Are they like we see them or have they been so radically changed so that they could not be recognised

New York because of CSI, Godzilla;
The Streets of San Francisco;
Monument Valley for every western;
the plains for Twister and all the road films;
the whole length of Route 66;
the Mardi Gras;
St Patrick's Day parade;
the Grand Canyon;
Niagara Falls;
the mighty redwoods;
the Alamo;
it goes on and on.

The US is full of natural beauty and I for one would like to see some of it.

Regards

Chas

[Lallans]

My hypothetical European couple will be able to go where ever they want and are not limited to any coast or region. East, West, South, North, or anywhere in between (except for Hawaii and Alaska). Everyone has their own interests, which is partly why I'm asking. Having lived and traveled throughout the US, what I'd put together might not be what a European couple would want to see.

Well in VT and NH you can actually get to meet the American people more than you generally could in the east. But with unlimited funds... everything is too easy. It's like trying to pick one candy out of warehouse full. LA, Los Vegas, Palm Springs, Grand Canyon, biggest balll of twine, Miami, Blue Mountains, Seattle, Chicago, Pawtucket... naw I can't do it!