That’s a great question: where are the best US travel destinations? All cities have their quality points, and stuff to work on. But it seems that our great city of Boston always ranks near the top in many categories. Hey, maybe that’s why we live nearby, right?
Boston-Did You Know
My friend Dr. Sanchiv Chopra, Deepak’s brother, who lives in nearby Weston, told me that almost 90% of the WORLDS medical research money is funneled RIGHT here into Boston? We have the BEST hospitals in the world.
Did you know that Fenway Park is the OLDEST ballpark in the country?
Yes, Boston Cream Pie, was reportedly created at the Parker Hotel in Boston in 1856. (I wasn’t there.)
Hungry? Did you know you could take a North End walking food tour?
Wait! Paul Revere‘s historic ride took place RIGHT HERE? Ah, ya, it did. There are a number of historical tours to choose from.
Did I mention this? We are less than a two hour drive from the greatest beaches in the Summer, and the greatest skiing in the Winter?
So, now that we have become reacquainted with greatest city in America, lets travel around the country to see the Best US travel destinations!
Anchorage, Alaska
Northern lights flicker from August to April, salmon roil downtown’s Ship Creek, and moose make guest appearances along a 100-mile trail network.
Arts District, Los Angeles
In all its sprawl, Los Angeles can be a beast to navigate. But, if you’re looking for trailblazing restaurants, breweries, designers, artists, cafes, and bars, downtown’s Arts District is worth a visit.
Bayfield, Wisconsin
Downtown, stop in at local shops like Good Flower Farm, a small batch skincare company and apothecary lab, or Penny Print Studio, a boutique that supports local artists and illustrators. If you’re in need of a pick-me-up, grab a frothy maple latte at Wonderstate Coffee, or head just outside of town to Copper Crow, the country’s first Indigenous-owned distillery started by members of the neighboring Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Boston
On this list, here’s Boston in the TOP 4!
On nearby Beacon Hill, locals and visitors alike have been abuzz with the debut of the impossibly photogenic multi-level independent bookstore, Beacon Hill Books & Cafe—where the children’s room is complete with a toy train that choo-choos around overhead. Just across the Freedom Trail in Charlestown, locals are raving about the duck poutine and lobster sliders at Waverly Kitchen & Bar, just steps from the Bunker Hill Monument and Freedom Trail.
And in the ever-growing Seaport neighborhood, the ICA Boston continues to amplify underrepresented voices in art, with major 2023 exhibits including Simone Leigh and María Berrío. But most exciting of all, Boston’s Back Bay will soon be home to Raffles Boston Back Bay Hotel & Residences, the iconic international hotel brand’s very first North American property.
California's Central Coast
A patchwork of laid-back beach towns, trail-laced redwood forests, and vineyards producing standout Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay, the Central Coast has been on our radar for a while now. Yet, all at once, it seems the region’s lesser-known destinations are taking on cooler second lives. In the Santa Ynez Valley, cowboy towns like Los Alamos and Los Olivos float on the same intriguing whispers that Joshua Tree did a decade ago (known, but not too known). The valley has emerged as the hippest new getaway for Angelinos, with its mix of funky tasting rooms like disco ball-decorated Future Perfect Wines, casually chic restaurants such as seafood tavern Bar Le Côte, and new accommodations, most notably the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern.
Charles County, Southern Maryland
Just 24 miles south of the White House, Charles County, Maryland, will take its spotlight as the historical setting of the 2023 Apple TV+ series Manhunt, which details the days following President Lincoln’s assassination and the search for John Wilkes Booth—produced by Fargo writer and producer Monica Beletsky and starring The Crown’s Tobias Menzies, no less. The scenic area is home to astonishing historic lore (go kayaking around shipwrecks dating from the Revolutionary War at Mallows Bay, a newly dedicated National Marine Sanctuary), nesting bald eagles and other bird watching, and a robust farm- and river-to-table dining scene along the Potomac.
Hudson Valley, New York
A place for Wellness
About 90 miles north of Manhattan, New York’s Hudson Valley has seen a burst of hospitality openings over the last decade, making it a top weekend getaway for city dwellers. And while it has already gained a reputation for its excellent culinary and shopping scenes, now the valley is becoming a bonafide wellness destination.
Kansas City
Kansas City has long been a major hub of the Midwest, but coastal dwellers should really start taking note. While the city is already garnering the attention of sports fans around the world—it’s hosting the NFL Draft in April 2023, and was chosen as one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup—there are plenty more cool openings on the near horizon.
Las Vegas
Start your engines
In November 2023, Vegas will also be home to the new Las Vegas Grand Prix, making it just one of three U.S. cities to host Formula 1 races. Although Las Vegas hosted races in 1981 and 1982, this will be the first time the Formula 1 circuit will be on the Las Vegas Strip, weaving past famous hotels and casinos and looping around the MSG Sphere. Also opening on the Strip in winter 2023 will be the new Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a 67-story property that spans 25 acres and approximately 9 million square feet, with a 173,000-square-foot casino, 3,700 hotel rooms, and more than 550,000 square feet of meeting space.
Macon, Georgia
In Macon, Georgia’s Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park is expected to be declared the newest U.S. national park in 2023.
Memphis
Memphis is also experiencing a hotel boom, with eight new properties in 2022 and more on the way. Recently opened are the funky The Memphian and Hyatt’s first Caption concept, both of which shine a light on the city’s heritage through design and cuisine, as does the latest crop of Memphis restaurants. Barbecue still reigns, but the city’s trendiest spots are lightening things up: Raw Girls now has two brick-and-mortar smoothie and juice bars, Food Network star chef Tamra Patterson will open a new vegetarian spot in 2023, and craft cocktail bar Cameo, opened this year, serves up sophisticated mocktails.
NoMad, Manhattan
Descend into one of NoMad’s best underground bars at subterranean Apotheke, a candlelit cocktail den hidden behind an unmarked door. One block up and a few steps down, Patent Pending is a speakeasy hidden behind daytime coffee shop Patent Coffee, which is used in signature cocktails like the rye and absinthe Odd Love. And there’s no reason to cross borders for neighboring flavors: You can experience the best of Koreatown at LittleMad, which offers a prix-fixe feast that starts with a smoky steak tartare, and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group has replanted its flag with the reopening of his trattoria Maialino (vicino).
Northern Kentucky & Cincinnati
While in Covington, check in to North by Hotel Covington, a downtown property that just underwent a recent luxury expansion. It’s within walking distance of a thriving restaurant scene that includes the original location of taco-and-slushy empire Agave + Rye; Libby’s Southern Comfort, which delivers a taste of Cincinnati with its goetta hush puppies; and the forthcoming Opal, a rooftop bar from local restaurateur Bill Whitlow, also responsible for Wenzel’s Whiskey, a new bourbon rectifier offering guests a hands-on blending and bottling experience. You can’t leave the region without crossing into Ohio for one Cincinnati bar everyone is whispering about: Ghost Baby. Five stories below the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, the underground bar and music hall revives the spirit of one of Cincinnati’s last-discovered lager tunnels.
Northern Michigan
The shimmering freshwater shores of Northern Michigan have long drawn summer crowds, and now with a host of high-profile restaurant openings and a wine scene that’s gaining national recognition, the “Cherry Capital of the World” is emerging as a must-visit culinary destination. Fine dining meets Midwestern comfort food—think: fried chicken and cheddar bread paired with inventive vegetable sides and natural wines—at Modern Bird on Front Street in Traverse City, which opened in August. A few blocks away, the aroma of spiced potatoes and coconut curry draw hungry brunch crowds to Hexenbelle, a new Palestinian bakery and coffee shop. Also worth bookmarking is dining destination Farm Club, which is equal parts working farm, market, restaurant, and brewery, and is accessible from downtown via the TART bike trail. Coming in late 2022, hotly anticipated Crocodile Palace will offer tantalizing Sichuan takeout with a seasonal flare.
U.S. Virgin Islands
This year brought the debut of the posh, eco-minded luxury Lovango Resort + Beach Club, where both overnight guests and day-pass visitors can indulge in beachfront food and drink service from the privacy of their very own cay. But 2023 has even more in store: After years of scaled-back plans, the USVI will have three fantastic, in-person, like-the-old-days Carnival celebrations. And after a $425 million resort rebuild, the beloved Frenchman’s Reef will reopen as two resorts: the Westin Beach Resort and Spa at Frenchman’s Reef, with some 85,000 square feet of stunning event spaces (destination wedding, anyone?); and The Seaborn at Frenchman’s Reef, Autograph Collection, a resort with a full-service spa, island excursions, private dock, and fun for the whole family.
The Everglades
The Tour
Park City, Utah
Coming for the film fest? The Pendry Park City opened last year smack in the middle of theater hotspots in Canyons Village at Park City Mountain Resort, also unveiling a new heated après-ski beach and 100-seat outdoor patio this ski season. The slope-side fun vies for attention with Pendry’s own Dos Olas Cantina for craft tequila cocktails, rooftop pool house with DJ sets, and sustainably sourced seafood flown in nightly at its Japanese-inspired KITA. At ski-only Deer Valley, the new Burns Express chairlift increases access to more beginner-friendly terrain. Mid-mountain at the resort’s Silver Lake Village, Goldener Hirsch has reopened as an Auberge Resort with sprawling luxe residences equipped with chef’s kitchens, private balconies, and this winter’s new high-end concierge service (think ski outfitting and grocery shopping). There’s also Deer Valley’s two-day Taste of Luxury Series, a quarterly culinary event launched last year and hosted by Michelin-star chefs (Massimo Bottura hosts this December). Want access to both ski resorts? The mid-range, 127-room Park City Marriott also opens later this year.
San Antonio, Texas
Texas’ second-largest city is the growing culinary destination in the Lone Star State thanks to an eclectic blend of Mexican, German, and Spanish heritages. Its food scene is a mix of posadas, tamaladas, and Tex-Mex puffy tacos, kolaches and biergartens, paellas and lighting luminarias. And San Antonio is a hotbed of under-the-radar talent increasingly recognized over the last several years and now exploding. Restaurants like Cured, Pharm Table, La Panadería, 2M Smokehouse, and Carnitas Lonja are a few of the eateries that have recently been drawing gastronomes to SATX. The city is also a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy—one of only two in America along with Tucson, Arizona—and the Alamo City had seven James Beard Award semifinalists in 2022.
Seattle
Gravitate to Midtown Square and the Jackson Apartments for murals, public sculpture, and tempting soul food. Arte Noir is a non-profit gallery and shop that opened in 2022, while nearby Wa Na Wari is a community hub, art gallery, and backyard concert venue. New or reconfigured Black-owned eating joints in the CD include Simply Soulful, Métier Brewing Company, and Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro.
Scottsdale and East Valley, Arizona
In Scottsdale, you can hike in a vibrant desert home to more than 400 types of plants (the Sonoran Desert), tour a Frank Lloyd Wright property (Taliesin West), and sip a paloma below the DJ booth of a day-club pool party—all in one afternoon. The sprawling, 184-square-mile town just northeast of Phoenix has become a magnet for bachelor/ette parties, golf trips, nature lovers, and sun seekers. (After all, you can wear sandals here for nine months a year.) More surprising, though, is the rise of the rest of the East Valley—the other towns east of Phoenix, like Gilbert, Chandler, and Mesa. In food and beverage, they’re even outcompeting Scottsdale in quality of new openings.
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride’s gold mines and fortunes had faded when a visionary bunch of ski enthusiasts hatched a plan to build a resort there in the early 1970s. Fifty years later, the funky little mountain town wedged into a southwestern Colorado box canyon has gained an international reputation as a beloved gathering place that keeps visitors coming back for more. Accordingly, the 2023, 50-year milestone for this tiny community and its year-round population of 2,600 will be big: Winter sports fans can celebrate the 50th season at Telluride Ski Resort with a new, high-speed quad chairlift and improved snowmaking capabilities. And the Telluride Bluegrass Festival will tune up for its 50th burst of joyful “festivation” in June, showcasing a world-class lineup that’s a carefully guarded secret until it’s revealed in spring. Savvy “festivarians” will snap up tickets quickly; the event always sells out early.
Virginia Beach
Anchored by a bustling three-mile boardwalk overlooking the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia Beach boasts the world’s longest pleasure beach and the world’s longest continually run surfing competition. But beaches aren’t the only reason to visit this resort city, which is home to everything from Chesapeake Bay blue crabs to hand-crafted spirits, as well as the colorful ViBE District and indelible historic sites.
