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Easily the majority of the top 15 cities or so are interesting enough for a normal person to visit from 2,000 miles away just to visit, if they like city tourism. Just not all of them.
Southern cities, including LA, make it hard to be a city tourist...the interesting stuff tends to be spread out and not easy to walk to for starters.
Of course if we're talking people from other continents the list gets smaller, though long-distance visitors tend to have more time so they can get beyond the obvious places.
Hard disagree on this one, downtown and Hollywood alone (connected by subway) provide more walking around tourism destinations that a lot of other places have in their entire cities. I'm assuming L.A. city tourists aren't starting their day in Sylmar or Lomita.
When you ride the Metro B line, the PA system literally announces multiple attractions of interest at arriving stations.
LA is defintely a world class destination city, but for tourism I would put it on a level below a NYC, Chicago, DC, etc. just cause of that^.
You defintely dont need a car to enjoy NYC, Chicago, DC, most of the city attractions are centralized and in a walkable area with transit access. Definetly need a car to enjoy LA, everythings spread out
Tier 1
New York City
San Francisco
LA
Miami
Las Vegas
Chicago
New Orleans
DC
Boston
Honolulu
Tier 2
Orlando
Atlanta
Anchorage/Alaska
Seattle
Philly
Nashville
Austin
San Diego
Orlando
Tier 3
Baltimore
St Louis
Cleveland
Albuquerque
Memphis
Tampa/St Pete
Phoenix
Tier 4
Milwaukee
Twin Cities
Detroit
Tier 5
Sacramento
Charlotte
Jacksonville
Colombus
Cincinnati
Etc
Tier 1 offer world class attractions. They themselves might not be world class (New Orleans , Vegas) but when they offer for tourist novelty is especially for international people.
Tier 2 offers something impressive and uniquely American with perhaps a sprinkling of world class stuff.
Tier 3 is very American with some strong legacy amenities or serve as a gateway to an interesting region.
Tier 4 is a weaker version of the above. Some of these cities like the twin cities offer a lot but are a little too generic or far from must see stuff to make the cut or have suffered from decay
Tier 5
May be a nice place to live but too unremarkable overall
LA is defintely a world class destination city, but for tourism I would put it on a level below a NYC, Chicago, DC, etc. just cause of that^.
You defintely dont need a car to enjoy NYC, Chicago, DC, most of the city attractions are centralized and in a walkable area with transit access. Definetly need a car to enjoy LA, everythings spread out
This is nuts.
The fact L.A “needs a car†didn’t stop many people from visiting it. As much as I don’t care for theme parks, there are always truck loads of tourists in a truckload of tour buses visiting Universal Studio, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood Sign, Six Flags, and (if you count Anaheim L.A-adjacent.) Disneyland…..etc.
As tacky as it is, you’d see all kinds of city passes tour packages sold on TripAdvisor and even Groupon.
I’m talking the most average, your garden variety tourists. That type that will rather go to Universal Studio and Hollywood Sign, get in Hollywood Star Map to see where Bruce Willis lives than going to D.C to see Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art or the Art Institute of Chicago. The type that also will fly to L.A and wait for hours outside Burbank studio lot because they want to be there in person to watch their favorite show live audience taping. The type that will also save up flying to NYC to see Drew Barrymore show live audience and cry with Drew over everything.
And trust me, there are more of them than the type that visits MoMA, Getty and Field Museum.
LA is defintely a world class destination city, but for tourism I would put it on a level below a NYC, Chicago, DC, etc. just cause of that^.
You defintely dont need a car to enjoy NYC, Chicago, DC, most of the city attractions are centralized and in a walkable area with transit access. Definetly need a car to enjoy LA, everythings spread out
Yeah, but the thing is, you actually don't, and if we're talking mainline tourist spots, "everything" doesn't spread out.
Mainstream tourist destinations are overwhelmingly within a 50 square mile radius (between the L.A. river and West Hollywood), which is connected by top-tier mass transit. If a tourist had a really detailed itinerary that included hikes, obscure attractions, and a stop at each beach community in the county, they would likely need a car.
Even outside that 50 mile radius, you have maybe the most popular tourist beach in the country with a direct rail connection to downtown. Metro has direct bus connections to the Getty from Santa Monica (which means its all free because you didn't park).
The sprawling metropolis of Dallas holds more culture than its contemporary glass buildings initially convey. Dallas Arts District, the largest urban arts district in the country, is home to a handful of museums, block parties and performing arts ranging from opera to interpretive dance. Meanwhile, Klyde Warren Park, a 5-acre green space built over a freeway, offers activities from free tai chi classes to interactive fountains. Despite its modern skyline, Dallas holds some historic elements like The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and Dallas Heritage Village. What's more, this city's thriving culinary and nightlife options firmly secure its place on this list.
Yeah, but the thing is, you actually don't, and if we're talking mainline tourist spots, "everything" doesn't spread out.
Mainstream tourist destinations are overwhelmingly within a 50 square mile radius (between the L.A. river and West Hollywood), which is connected by top-tier mass transit. If a tourist had a really detailed itinerary that included hikes, obscure attractions, and a stop at each beach community in the county, they would likely need a car.
Even outside that 50 mile radius, you have maybe the most popular tourist beach in the country with a direct rail connection to downtown. Metro has direct bus connections to the Getty from Santa Monica (which means its all free because you didn't park).
The traffic is a tourist attraction in and of itself. I personally prefer a place that doesn't have a nucleus and is more spread out. There's always of "what's next?" If a city where everything is localized, once you seeing everything in that area, then it gets a bit boring. Plus with a city is attractions all over, you can find things in-between each destination.
Visitors going for various reasons like family or work isn't the same as someone genuinely flying to Dallas to check out Millennium Tower and hot new restaurants in Uptown.
Boston
Chicago
Las Vegas x
Los Angeles x
Miami x
New Orleans x
New York
Philadelphia ? May have stayed the night while on a trip to timeshare.
San Francisco
Washington, DC x
The worthy runners-up, also alphabetically:
Asheville x
Austin
Charleston, SC x
Denver x Lived there for several months more than once while husband was in training on his job.
Nashville x
Portland, OR
Savannah x
Seattle
X beside those I have been to or driven through.
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