America's Best Cities (part 1)

Best Weather

Of course this is a potentially contentious category given that what represents “good weather” is fairly subjective. Assuming however that by good weather we generally mean hot (but not too hot) and sunny we’ve plumped for Miami. With its year round sun and tropical climate Miami is a reliable choice for sun-seeking tourists and of course it doesn’t hurt that you can enjoy the fine weather whilst stretched out on some of America’s best beaches. Just hope that your visit doesn’t coincide with one of the infrequent hurricane hits!

Best Food

Another near impossible category to judge, after all how do you compare Texan barbecue with a Philadelphia Cheese-steak? Every cuisine will have its champions and who am I to judge their relative merits? Perhaps it’s safest to choose the winner of ‘best food’ based on which city we think offers the widest, most diverse dining in the US; an accolade that must surely be handed to New York. The Big Apple has long reigned as one of, if not the best, city’s for dining out in the world and with a rage of cuisines as culturally diverse as the city itself there’s guaranteed to be something to suite every taste, from 3 star fine dining at some of the worlds most heralded restaurants to street stalls offering unmatched fast food.

Best Entertainment

If there’s one thing America does better than anywhere else its entertainment; this after all is the country that gave the world Hollywood and Disney World. This is therefore another hotly contested category; it could so easily have gone to Orlando and its host of theme parks or LA for it Hollywood associations and movie related attractions. Ultimately however it was impossible to look any further than Las Vegas, America’s gaudy, no expense spared capital of Entertainment. Even if you don‘t fancy trying your luck in the casino’s Vegas has grown into something far more than a gambler’s paradise, most of the big casinos are veritable Theme parks these days and it’s worth a visit just to marvel at the spectacular unreality of it all.

Best Music

Amongst the contenders Austin, Texas the self-proclaimed “live music capital of the world”, a title which is certainly debatable but equally, considering that it has more music venues than any other city in the US, hard to refute, has a strong case. Historically Memphis and Nashville, the homes of Blues and Country respectively are hard to beat especially if you’re a fan of either of those genres. In fact most of America’s big cities (think Detroit, San Francisco, Chicago and of course New York) could make a convincing claim. After lengthy debate however we opted for New Orleans, a city which has suffered considerable set backs recently but which still retains the vibrant spirit for which it is famous. Much of this character is reflected in the city’s rich music scene which draws on a distinctive mix of European, Latin American, and African-American culture and, most notably, gave the world Jazz. It undoubtedly remains one of best cities in America to see live music.

For holidays and cheap flights to America visit Travel Zoo or search for flights to the USA on flight comparison websites like Cheap Flights or Opodo. At the time of writing cheap flights to New York were available from cheapflights.co.uk at £222 flying from Heathrow in January.

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