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Hello, Im thinking of going to the US for a visit from overseas. I have never been there before so the biggest question I have is what cities in the USA are best for walking. I plan to start my trip in Washington, DC and then I want to travel to other cites via train and or airplane but Im not completely sure waht cities have good transportation systems and are easy to get around without a car. I do not want to rent a car because based on what ive read in travel books it seems like a very confussing process with alot of rules than in Europe. If anyone can answer this question I have I would be very thankful because Ive read many travel book but they just confuse me.
The OP's original question pertains to walkability and which cities are best, as well as from a perspective of visiting from overseas. On those criteria, DC is a good start, followed by Philadelphia and then NYC. All three cities are linked by an excellent rail system....though maybe not by world standards
All three offer excellent walkability in their historic downtown cores, as well as a sense of US history. A car in each of the cities is something you would not want, especially in the historic areas/downtowns. Starting in DC first is probably a good idea, then Philadelphia, ending in NYC. The train trip back from NYC to DC is pretty quick.
DC offers up great attractions obviously, as well as Philadelphia where the US started (the city features the "first" everything). NYC of course needs no explanation. Have fun!
New York City, NY
Boston, MA
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
Chicago, IL
Washington DC
These are by far the best walking major cities. I would add Baltimore to that list. Other cities like Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, and even Los Angeles may have nodes and such but as a whole they aren't great walking cities like the ones listed here.
New Orleans is a good walking city. By far, most of the interesting parts are concentrated in a few areas (Uptown/Garden District, CBD, Vieu Carre, City Park, Marigny), and public transportation is good between them. As you've probably heard, NOLA is a very dangerous city, but the aforementioned areas are basically OK--the non-interesting areas are where most of the crime is.
Dallas has just added its 4th rail transit line, the Green line, and most of the visitor attractions are now reachable by rail. This now includes the Deep Ellum, Exposition Park and Fair Park areas, in addition to regular and frequent service to the Victory Park neighborhood. The downtown/uptown areas are pretty much accessible without a car, and contain many museums, showpiece architecture by Pritzker prize winners, and many clubs and restaurants. The Mckinney Avenue Trolley is also a fun way to tour the McKinney Avenue area in Uptown, definitely walkable and car-optional.
Metro Dallas has hundreds of square miles of residential suburbs where public transportation is not really a good option, but the areas that visitors want to see, such as the Kennedy museum, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Dallas World Aquarium and the Art Deco buildings and paintings in Fair Park are just steps away from a rail station. The TRE rail line will give you access to downtown Fort Worth and its western heritage.
I got the impression that the OP thought that he would have to limit his choices due to ability to get around without a car; while some cities are obviously more walker-friendly than others, he doesn't need to limit his choices based on that alone. My two cents would be that he should come with a list of cities he wants to see most, then go from there. I can't think of any cities in the US where you can't easily get around as a tourist, although maybe there are some out there. It might be easier (or more useful) to ask what cities will I, as a tourist, be unable to get around by walking and/or by bus or train.
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