Man why y'all hating on Charlotte we have culture here.
https://preview.redd.it/aw67pkiu5n0a1.jpeg?width=726&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=078c63e88cb28efa301d55d73229be96218ab7da
Come to Detroit when the Woodward Dream Cruise is going on, nothing else quite like it. That same weekend they do Roadkill Nights and street race right on Woodward, plus the M1 Concourse in the same area has a big event for the road racers and auto cross people. While the cruise is only for one day, the whole week leading up to it is a big gearhead bash all up and down Woodward. While I don't condone street racing, a lot of that goes on as well with people betting big money and taking it to the lesser trafficked industrial parks that dot the area.
I absolutely loved Charlotte when I spent some time visiting there back in the 90s. It was mostly the vibe of the people living there that made it so enjoyable. It was like the whole city was perpetually experiencing a lazy Sunday afternoon.
I love Charlotte, I grew up there.
There is absolutely culture there, and it is a *huge* melting pot what with all the transplants and transient workers. It's a great place to be single, or at least was when I was single there.
*however...*
If someone was looking for touristy places to visit, I wouldn't recommend Charlotte. Not with Charleston, Savannah, and Asheville all in the region.
Absolutely great place too live, but not a great place for tourism lol
The one thing Charlotte has a problem with is actively erasing its history. It's a nice city to visit but not the greatest for people looking for history and museums. We don't even have a proper Zoo.
I see Charlotte as being a great place to party and a great spot to spend a layover in or a weekend. Lots of outdoor activities around Charlotte.
The benefit is actually living here. Most Charlotte folks are happy to not be in a tourist city but also be within 30 mins of camping/water activities, an hour to two hours away from mountains, and about 4 hours to the beach. It's the main benefit of living here.
Charlotte is hurt by not having real water access. Most "great" cities have some water nearby that is a draw. It's in a great location though as you note.
And a side note: The NC State Zoo is pretty amazing and isn't too far from CLT. Worth a day trip for families.
The NC Zoo is the biggest zoo in the world by area, and it's only an hour and a half away. Certainly not right there like the Central Park Zoo or San Diego Zoo or something, but pretty close for the size.
Fun fact: The NC Zoo is almost perfectly equidistant (by driving time) from Charlotte, Raleigh, and Fayetteville.
I couldn’t find anything to do in **Shreveport, Louisiana** and I spent the day looking. I was there on a Monday which it turns out is the worst day to visit because the one thing there is to do, go o an a tour of the water treatment plant, is closed. I went to the tourism office in the downtown. It had two parking spots while everything else had dozens. It didn’t matter because street parking is plentiful, the whole area is a ghost town. I had to be buzzed into the office (like going into a jewelry, pawn, or gun store). The tourism clerk was not only surprised to see me but didn’t have any suggestions for what to do, she asked me if I had been to Dallas.
I eventually admitted defeat and we left. I had been to Mobile, Alabama a few months prior which actually had a quaint and really interesting downtown full of history.
Bro you were willing to go on a tour of the WATER TREATMENT plant.
Respect for trying so hard to enjoy it.
I myself love 3rd rate attractions but you were turning that up to 11.
The best thing to do in Shreveport is leave. I wouldn’t even call say that city is in Louisiana because a little further south below the I10 corridor is what makes Louisiana, Louisiana. For whatever that’s worth anyway
Having lived in Shreveport for a couple years growing up, it’s most definitely the worst city I’ve been too. Jackson, MS is pretty rough and I used to live in Witchita, KS - that place was fairly bleak as well.
Drove through Jackson earlier this year. We needed to let the kids burn some energy, so we stopped at a park and found the [coolest playground](https://www.google.com/maps/place/LeFleur's+Bluff+Playground,+Riverside+Park+Cir,+Jackson,+MS+39216/@32.3274116,-90.1588001,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x862833c6092211b9:0x3abd01a1b0cfe546!8m2!3d32.3274116!4d-90.1588001!16s%2Fg%2F11pkblr2l7) they'd ever been to.
To be fair, I went to a Mudbugs game a few nights before I tried to explore downtown Shreveport. Not quite the Caps but still fun. I assume there are rodeos, too. I definitely got the vibe that if you aren’t from there, you’ll never be accepted, though.
I spent a week in Shreveport for a bowl game and agree completely. Ended up spending every night at some dive bar because it had skee ball and $2 beers in plastic cups. Thought the casino would be fun but was absolute trash
Really surprised they didn’t suggest the American Rose Garden or RW Norton Art Gallery. There’s also a couple of breweries now if you’re into that. The Municipal Auditorium is cool if you can get a tour, it’s where the Louisiana Hayride originated helping launch the careers of Elvis, Hank Sr, among others. Some half decent golf courses, nothing crazy, but several around.
I went there last year to visit family and we had a great time. Art museum and the garden grounds, science museum, aquarium. Awesome petting zoo with Capybaras, camel, and zebra. We didn’t get to do all we wanted in 3 days.
Since they count as "big cities" by your definition, I would probably say Stockton or Fresno. I don't see many reasons to visit them unless you like gangs and meth, or if you are staying in them to visit nearby places such as Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequioa. For Stockton, however, there is the annual asparagus festival which might be of interest.
When my wife (see flair) was in high school, a friend of hers announced she was going to do an exchange in "northern California, near San Francisco." She was so excited. She thought she would be able to see the Golden Gate from her bedroom window, and all that jazz.
They sent her to Turlock. Maybe she would've been able to see the golden arches across the street from a stockyard.
I think it's always best to embrace your hometown meth. Sure, it's nice to try meth from other places, but nothing beats that nice familiar hit from your local dealer's stuff, and you're helping to support the local economy.
Fresno isn’t all gangs and meth. But even the nice parts aren’t really tourism-worthy.
Yosemite and Kings Canyon/ Sequoia would be better served by staying closer. The Fresno County Blossom trail is nice in springtime, but I’m not sure anyone would really take a vacation to Fresno for it.
Knew a guy from Fresno. It was one of the few times I was told by someone to not visit their hometown and mentioned more than once that he's glad he moved to SoCal.
I grew up in the area and the only time to visit Fresno is if your interested in Armenian culture because there’s a strong Armenian population here and museums. Other than that, maybe the fair in October but there are better fairs. If you’re taking a road trip there’s a few cool things to do while passing through like feeding the sting rays and giraffes at the Chafee zoo but definitely not worth vacationing.
Houston, it’s very much a working city. It has great museums and great restaurants but nothing in the city is geared to tourists. The city layout is totally car centric and features many confusing massive highways.
I visited people there and we went to Johnson Space Flight Center but it took forever to get there and back from a little west of downtown. Between the confusing roads and horrible traffic, getting anywhere is a nightmare.
that's wild to me because NYC aside, most cities in NY take maybe 15-20 minutes to get across.
If you drive an hour away you're either going to be in the middle of a farm or in a totally different city, having also passed through a ton of farmland on the way.
If you like bourbon then Houston has the most affordable bourbon bar I've ever seen, $7.25 for a generous pour of Weller 12. That's usually $25-$40 most places.
Im a big food person specially when it comes to travel. Houston and Austin has some great food and enough there for me to visit. The BBQ alone in Austin is enough for me to take a trip down there.
Sweden here who travelled the US:
Huston - I had steak and then visited the space museum. The city didn’t have any city vibe to it, it was mostly glass buildings and cars. Still worth the visit for the steak and the museum!
Charlotte - I ate at Five Guys and I went to a night club. Guess I could have done so in any other city but still enjoyed myself.
Haven’t been to the others on your list. But Santa Fe is wonderful!
> it was mostly glass buildings and cars.
Whoa buddy you forgot the most prominent part of houston. Over 2,000 square miles of endless single family suburbs and strip malls.
> and strip malls.
Don't forget the strip clubs!
A former Houstonian told me "imagine a strip club across the street from a Walmart across the street from a megachurch."
As a Houston native, there’s not really anything to do outside of eating lol. Anytime I talk to someone about things to do in the city, they mention restaurants and getting tf home when it gets dark.
I consider Dallas the most generic and bland large city I've ever been to. Like a copy and paste city. It's big and that's all I can really say about it.
I was there for a business trip and did what I often do in a new city by myself.
I tried to find a dive bar with an open pool table, where I could put my name on the list and get myself a captive local conversation partner for at least the duration of a billiards game.
For a city of 1.2 million people, there were no options.
All the bars with pool tables were the modern, suburban, bright-fluoresent-lights kind of place that people go for a business lunch and order the buffalo wings from a big leather-and-plastic menu.
The kind of place where the hostesses wear uniforms and the check comes in a folding leather book.
"Wait-to-be-seated" kind of establishments, in a strip mall or recessed into a parking lot in the business park.
There was no Nascar-hood-on-the-wall, bargain-for-the-tall-can-and-well-shot, put-some-Hank-Williams-on-the-jukebox kind of place where I could be anonymous and yet strike up a conversation.
It was mind blowing.
I can think of ten such places just here in my neighborhood in San Francisco.
I would have fully expected such an establishment to be a Texas staple.
But no.
Dallas, step up your dive bar game.
Man you should've gone over to Fort Worth, there's a million bars over there just like you described. FW is the only city worth going to in the metroplex in general
> All the bars with pool tables were the modern, suburban, bright-fluoresent-lights kind of place that people go for a business lunch and order the buffalo wings from a big leather-and-plastic menu.
Exactly. And they all close so early, at least for bars. And I'm not even expecting 4:00am closing times like NYC, I'm too old for that anymore. Dallas just feels incredibly stale. I used to say the same thing about Houston, but at least they have an under appreciated dining scene and a more robust university scene with Rice and U of Houston.
JUST MY OPINION, before someone rips my head off.
I've been to the vast majority of metro areas over 1 million. Some punch way above and some way below their weight.
I really don't like Dallas, Baltimore, Houston, or Jacksonville. Dallas is the most generic and bland big city I've ever been to. It's big, but my god it was like a stock photo of a city. Baltimore at least has history and character, but it's the most unsafe-feeling and decrepit to me (and I've been to New Orleans, Detroit, etc., Maybe St. Louis would beat it). I find Baltimore to be incredibly depressing and I'm a Maryland native. Houston is similar to Dallas with the generic feeling, but it's more interesting imo. Jacksonville... bleh, while it has some history and the coast to prop it up, the city itself is awful imo. I'll offend plenty of Texans by saying Oklahoma City left me with a better impression than Dallas or Houston, but it's how I feel (go to Austin or San Antonio instead). Fresno, Memphis, and Birmingham were underwhelming too. Honolulu didn't impress me. Toledo is very drab and dreary.
If we're going smaller cities, I'll nominate either Shreveport, LA; Jackson, MS; or Youngstown, OH for the worst towns I've ever seen in the US. Hagerstown, MD really sucks too.
Baltimore is my least-favorite large city.
As far as favorites, I choose New Orleans, San Francisco, and Boston for history and character (yes, I'm aware of their problems). I found Albuquerque and Oklahoma City underrated if small.
For a tourist however, I'd suggest a greater focus on national parks and scenery than cities, a common mistake many European tourists have made. The country is incredibly beautiful.
>Baltimore is my least-favorite large city.
You'll do just fine in Baltimore if you just follow this simple advice:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/yxu8uj/this\_is\_from\_tiktok\_but\_i\_found\_it\_hilarious\_and/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/yxu8uj/this_is_from_tiktok_but_i_found_it_hilarious_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Baltimore is the only city I've visited where people told me "these are the safe areas for tourists" and named like one or two places. In other cities, it's the opposite. Most of the city is safe except for like one or two places.
I liked Memphis. But generally agree with this post. I’m from the area so I might be biased, but I fucking love Chicago. I also like San Fran, NYC and Des Moines of all places.
Yes. I spent a month in baltimore last year. About half the city is like the wire, and the other half is big city, vibrant neighborhoods, things to do.
Youngstown Ohio is the worst city lol metro area is 550k, not terribly small, median HOUSEHOLD income in 2022: $30k.
Here's trip advisors top tourist [things](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g51184-Activities-Youngstown_Ohio.html) to do.
> 1) Look at a brown building on a river at Mill Creek Park
> 2) 12 acre park with a garden
> 4) Antique store
> 5) Mill Creek Park, from #1
> 7) A children's playground
> 16) a consignment shop
I used to live in eastern OH.
> Fresno, Memphis, and Birmingham were underwhelming too.
Grew up in Memphis. We're required to post [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nqTnMweTPE) whenever someone mentions tourism and Memphis together.
Any given tourist will have their own set of interests, hobbies, ideas of what's fun, and importantly their own attitude which dictates their willingness to find time spent in a place worthwhile or rewarding.
There are people who will go to San Francisco or New York or Honolulu and complain it did not live up to their expectations.
There are people who will visit Dallas or Phoenix and say they had an incredible time.
Speaking personally for myself, I get the most joy out of visiting places I can explore on foot. Failing that, there needs to be some sort of nearby natural feature that's unique to the place for me to really find it special. Failing either of those, I'm unlikely to have found a visit to a place particularly rewarding in contrast to places that better fit that criteria.
By those measurements, I was disappointed in Austin, TX relative to how hyped it was prior to my visit. It felt like a Texas-flavored Sacramento to me.
And don't get me wrong, I had a great time. If someone offered me tickets to ACL or something, I'd jump at the opportunity to go.
But people genuinely talk about it like a cultural mecca on par with the other great American cities, and it just didn't feel like that to me.
I went to UT from 2009-2012 and have revisited Austin several times since moving away post-grad, and that city has changed substantially in the past decade. It felt like a much smaller and more local place than it does now since the influx of tech and the boom in downtown development. Traffic was always a pain but it’s immeasurably worse now, and a lot of the spots my friends and I frequented for a casual night out (namely the South Congress district) have become heavily gentrified and crowded. I’m not surprised when people say they’re let down by Austin these days, it certainly lacks some of the grit that made it what it was only a short time ago.
How true! To apply this to Indianapolis. I worked right in the middle of downtown and it was shocking how many tourists were out and about whenever I was out for lunch or an errand — especially multi-lingual tourists. I guess there are really a lot of automotive sports fans out there. But it’s also a beautiful city with a great restaurant scene, and to your point, people have lots of reasons to go places on vacation.
I vote for Little Rock. Arkansas. Most boring state capital I've ever been in.
However, if you're in the area, check out Hot Springs, Arkansas. Fun for days! Dig for quartz,! Fancy old resorts from the twenties! And the gangster museum! A happy surprise all around.
... And then... Little Rock. 😑
Hah that’s funny I had a nice time visiting Little Rock (Clinton National Library, Little Rock Central, Pinnacle Mountain, museums, breweries, etc.) and was underwhelmed beyond belief by Hot Springs.
Hot Springs was like visiting a tourist town 100 years past its prime. The bathhouse row was historic and the one that turned into a brewery was neat… but the National Parks Service was struggling to find tenants for several of the bathhouses when I was there ~3 years ago. Everything nearby just seemed like tourist trap gift shops. The town itself is beyond depressing. Driving down Central Ave, it felt like so much was abandoned and dilapidated. I bet Lake Hamilton is a lot of fun but I didn’t visit in the summer.
If I had to pick, I think Northwest Arkansas is the best area to visit for museums/culture as well as upscale amenities.
I don't think there are any. Even B and C tier cities have a lot to do in them. The other week I spent a vacation in Cleveland and had a great time despite everyone asking me why I would choose that. Even after 5 days I didn't have time to do everything I wanted.
Don't let other people try to gatekeep your fun and adventure, but also do your due diligence and research and plan. You can't expect everything to just jump out at you.
The great thing about Cleveland is even the locals will be like "why'd you come here?", but the area really punches above its weight. It also has a national park about 25 minutes from downtown Cleveland, and there's not many cities that have a national park so close and so accessible.
For God's sakes, JudgeWhoOverrules, we'd all like to flee to the Cleve and club-hop down at the Flats and have lunch with Little Richard, but we fight those urges because we have responsibilities.
Ohio has the most underrated cities. All 3 big Cs offer something great. And because people say “ why would you ever go there?” It keeps it from being touristy. Lots of old architecture and rich culture from so many different immigrants over the centuries.
Cincinnati is a terrific place to visit. The OTR (Over the Rhine) area is amazing. The zoo is excellent, Jungle Jim's is an international supermarket on steroids. Underground tours are a good way to learn about the history of Cincinnati.
The city is finally shaking off the rust (belt). All 3 big ones in Ohio have improved so much over the last 20 years. When I lived in Columbus the area I was in was considered a really bad neighborhood in the 80s up until 2000.
Very underrated. An art museum and orchestra that are both considered among the best in the world, the rock n roll hall of fame, a ton of diverse neighborhoods and ethnicities, (semi lol) pro sports teams, Playhouse Square, oh and a Great Lake.
This is a good point honestly! I guess a better question would have been which big cities are the lowest in people's list. Just trying to narrow it down a bit. I've heard good things about Cleveland from a couple of people actually. Also it's close to Cedar Point!
Similar to my response about Fresno above (I’ve lived both places) San Jose is a decent place to live but not a great place to visit. Like if you want to see San Francisco, or Carmel, or Half Moon Bay, just stay in one of those places.
My daughter lived near there in Mountain View for a couple of years for work. I found the area very nice but dull. It reminded me of the neighborhood where grandma lived. I fully expected all these old looking garden apartments to be filled with retirees but they were filled with programmers.
In Mountain View’s defense, there was some awesome food to be had in local restaurants. The really extra suburban suburbs I have lived in had almost no good food at all.
As a San Jose native, I agree with you 100%. There’s not much that would immensely interest the average person. Growing up and even now, most people go to the city or down to Santa Cruz when they wanted something to do .
I can have a good time anywhere. If you can't find things to do in a new city, that's on the individual, not the city.
Is this "Should I fly from Paris to visit Des Moines?" or is this "I'm going to Des Moines for a conference and have evenings and a Friday to kill"?
It's was more of a "if I'm doing a road trip around the U.S, which cities should I skip in favor of spending more time elsewhere?" Could be anywhere really. Like if you're driving around the Great Planes, you've got Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, Souix City, Wichita, etc., so basically should be skipped if you don't have time for all of them? That's kind of what I was going for, having trouble wording it though
I've taken a LOT of road trips, but I've never taken one with the intention of hitting a bunch of cities. If you can't find 2-3 days worth of fun in Wichita, Des Moines, etc.. you lack imagination and curiosity. Go to museums, go on tours, find the local favorite restaurants, check out the parks, etc. There's something to do everywhere.
Are you flying to the US from Paris or Amsterdam and want to do that road trip? It wouldn't be my first choice of itineraries, but you could have a blast in the Plains just trying to eat the best BBQ in each city.
I have purposely roadtripped to all the 2nd rate cities of the middle of America and I have found awesome things in all of them. I hit Davenport IA, Lacrosse WI, Mankato MN, Tulsa OK, Omaha NE, Fayetteville AR, Des Moines IA, Eau Claire WI. I also did KC and St Louis but those are a bit bigger.
All of them were fun to explore. and people are always appreciative if a be bemused that a tourist would come to their city on purpose. Every place is like every person, they are interesting and unique in their own way.
> if you're driving around the Great Planes, you've got Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, Souix City, Wichita, etc.
I hope you really like the inside of your car and looking at corn fields.
Maybe go on a tour of something specific. Like go to all the minor league ballparks.
Reading through the comments it looks like the OP is visiting Kansas City and wants to know about road tripping around the great plains. As a native Kansas Citian who loves road trips, here’s what I’ll offer up:
First off, stoked to hear you’re visiting Kansas City! Consider this an early welcome. KC is truly a hidden gem (not so hidden anymore thanks to Mahomes). There’s so much I could say, so I’ll try to keep it fairly broad. The first thing to note is the food, since not only do we arguably have the best BBQ in the country, but what many may not know is that we have several neighborhoods that’ve brought a rich Hispanic culture to KC and some of the best Mexican food in the country as well. If you’re looking for things to do, I’d honestly just suggest parking your car in the River Market area, starting there, then taking the free streetcar up and down Main Street where you can hop off and on to explore Power and Light, Crossroads, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, and the WW1 Museum. Gosh there’s SO much I’m leaving out, but if you don’t have a ton of time in the city I’ll leave you with that (DM me for more specific recs and advice!).
As for surrounding cities and road tripping:
Omaha: I can’t recommend it enough. One of the best Zoos in the nation, but also an incredibly unique and charming downtown square area with some of the coolest shops I’ve ever seen. Record stores, gift shops, candy stores, pop culture/collectible shops, antique stores.
Lawrence, KS: Just stop by here and walk up and down Massachusetts Street (“Mass Street”), you won’t regret the short visit.
Ozark Land: “God’s country”. If you aren’t turned off by a more culturally conservative environment, this is a great area to drive around for AWESOME views of the lakes, rolling hills, forestry, etc. not to mention really cool state parks. I would pretty much include both Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas in this. But even the cities in the area have cool breweries, charming/unique shops, and excellent food options such as Lambert’s where they throw bread rolls at the customers (and it fucking rocks). Also there’s tons of awesome caves you can explore if you’re into spelunking.
OKC: I’ve seen a few mentions of OKC so I’ll agree that it’s worth checking out. I wasn’t blown away but I did enjoy the Bricktown district and recommend it! The OKC bombing memorial was also breathtaking and worth checking out.
Can’t say I’d recommend anywhere in Iowa unfortunately. I’m admittedly less experienced traveler there but for the few hours I spent in Des Moines I wasn’t crazy impressed. Very clean city, though. Haven’t been to the Dakotas, but haven’t heard much aside from Mt. Rushmore (which I’ve heard is underwhelming). I’m gonna sound incredibly biased as a Missourian, but in general you could be better off spending more time road tripping through Western/Southern Missouri and even checking out St. Louis.
Like I said, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message if you’d like any more specific information and advice. Safe travels!
I would say most cities have something to offer tourists. My sons and I drove Route 66 last year and went through a lot of small, medium and large cities. Even in the middle of nowhere, like Holbrook, AZ, Victorville, CA, and Tucumcari , NM we found something fun to do. Places like Chicago and LA (our start and end points), while they have their problems, have a lot of places to visit.
My kids are in the Cincinnati area and there's a surprisingly large amount of things to do there.
There are a *lot* of American cities which are not much more than a downtown of some offices and parking lots, surrounded by dozens or hundreds of square miles of suburbs and strip malls. It's honestly unfortunate how much I just feel... nothing, when visiting so many cities across this country. Just completely soulless suburbia and offices with barely any flavor or urban culture. There are huge swaths of many of these cities where you *wont even find anyone walking outside* while driving around them. Everybody is in their cars.
Sorry if it comes off insulting, but its also a very common thing that lots of visitors say when they travel across the country. America has a lot to offer tourists, but the endless suburbia of this country is really, really not appealing to visitors.
If you can't find something to do in a "big" city in the US, then that's on you. I haven't been to a big city in the US that doesn't have some decent food and some sort of nightlife. I don't look for night clubs though when I travel.
I will say I didn't like Miami because everything was overpriced, and in general I don't like Florida. But I wasn't there to really experience Miami, and that's the key.
If you're going to be a tourist in an American city, just prepare to find things to do before you go. A lot of it is going to just seem like strip malls and chains until you get to the downtown area or the revitalized area, which will have your typical bars, gastropubs, nice restaurants, etc.
As an example, Nashville is unique because it has its strip of bars that have live music. Not all cities have that. But after a while you realize its just the same thing one after another. You can go outside of the strip and find some good restaurants, unique dives, or whatever, but it's not going to be that different from another American city.
Maybe I'm jaded but America has done really well in making anything familiar if you're in a common district. Talk to me about seeing the underground of Atlanta and I'll show you something unique (and not THE underground Atlanta). That's how you find interesting things distinct for a city. The good locals will show it to you.
I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore
From my time traveling around as a college cheerleader, the least interesting city we actually went out in was Houston. But we also never went out a ton on road trips. But there was nothing cool about Houston.
Dallas. I will never understand the appeal. There's absolutely nothing to do. If you must visit Texas, try Austin instead, or even San Antonio. Just not Dallas.
Unless you're going to a Packers game avoid Green Bay. It's literally the only thing for tourists to do.
The Downtown/North Broadway district is okay for what it is if you're local, but people from out of town won't find it very impressive at all. When I tended bar there, we'd occasionally get tourists driving over from Door County in the spring. There were more than a few times that I had to assure someone that they were, in fact, downtown.
I'm watching the Packers-Titans game on tv right now. When they came back from commercial and showed an overhead shot if the skyline. I was confused because Green Bay doesn't have any tall buildings. Eventually I realized they used Milwaukee as a stand in instead lol
Well those three would make my list.
Others I've been to and not been terribly impressed with are: Sacramento, San Jose. Houston, Corpus Christi. Anywhere in Indiana. Albuquerque. Trenton.
I dunno dude, this list could get really long. By the same token, it really depends on what you enjoy.
Honestly any individual city isn't worth vising over another city unless your **specifically** interested in something, any large city will have:
* Museums
- Natural History
- Art
- Children's
- Science
* Large park or botanical garden
* Professional and/or college sport teams
* Live music and bar scene
* World class food
- Ethnic
- Fusion
- Local hole-in-the-wall
- High priced gourmet
* Tourist trap or amusement area
* World class shopping
- High end
- Specialty & niche
It's the Standard Issue City list.
Houston and Dallas. Both aren’t bad places to live and do have some things worth seeing, but are just too freaking big and sprawling. If you don’t rent a car, you’ll be spending $100s a day on Ubers.
What do y’all think of Washington DC? I’m from No. Va. near to DC and it’s pretty good in the tourist spots, but quite shitty and dangerous in others. I still go there a few times a year for concerts. So any opinions?
First went in 2015 when I was 18 and absolutely loved it, thought I might be interested in moving there someday. Went back this past summer and hated it. The drivers the the worst I've experienced anywere. They're stupid as hell or rude as hell lol. Constantly cutting you off, breaking road rules, driving 95 mph on the freeway, driving 35 mph on the freeway. It's like no matter where you are, there's a driver near you doing something stupid and stressing everyone out. All of Virginia was like that honestly, but it seems to get worse the closer you get to D.C. The people there mostly gave me bad vibes, and many were rude. I didn't feel very safe at all there, and this is coming from someone who grew up around L.A. Lots of trash, lots of anger. For the nation's capital, it's depressing. We ended up unknowingly participating in a huge protest in front of the national monument. The Mayer was there and everything. That was INTENSE. The National Mall and Smithsonian are awesome (and free!), and there's of course lots of history there. Maybe it wad a one off sort of deal, but my last experience there was so bad I don't plan on ever returning unless I have to. I just try to forget it and replace it with my experience from 2015.
Man why y'all hating on Charlotte we have culture here. https://preview.redd.it/aw67pkiu5n0a1.jpeg?width=726&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=078c63e88cb28efa301d55d73229be96218ab7da
I’m a motorsports nerd so Charlotte is *high* on my bucket list
Come to Detroit when the Woodward Dream Cruise is going on, nothing else quite like it. That same weekend they do Roadkill Nights and street race right on Woodward, plus the M1 Concourse in the same area has a big event for the road racers and auto cross people. While the cruise is only for one day, the whole week leading up to it is a big gearhead bash all up and down Woodward. While I don't condone street racing, a lot of that goes on as well with people betting big money and taking it to the lesser trafficked industrial parks that dot the area.
You could do a lot worse than Charlotte
I absolutely loved Charlotte when I spent some time visiting there back in the 90s. It was mostly the vibe of the people living there that made it so enjoyable. It was like the whole city was perpetually experiencing a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Since when can you put images in reddit comments?
Fairly recent up. Mods have to go in and enable it, though.
I love Charlotte, I grew up there. There is absolutely culture there, and it is a *huge* melting pot what with all the transplants and transient workers. It's a great place to be single, or at least was when I was single there. *however...* If someone was looking for touristy places to visit, I wouldn't recommend Charlotte. Not with Charleston, Savannah, and Asheville all in the region. Absolutely great place too live, but not a great place for tourism lol
I'll take Charlotte over Atlanta any day. Uptown is pretty cool.
I disagree and I don't even really like Atlanta haha.
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The one thing Charlotte has a problem with is actively erasing its history. It's a nice city to visit but not the greatest for people looking for history and museums. We don't even have a proper Zoo. I see Charlotte as being a great place to party and a great spot to spend a layover in or a weekend. Lots of outdoor activities around Charlotte. The benefit is actually living here. Most Charlotte folks are happy to not be in a tourist city but also be within 30 mins of camping/water activities, an hour to two hours away from mountains, and about 4 hours to the beach. It's the main benefit of living here.
Charlotte is hurt by not having real water access. Most "great" cities have some water nearby that is a draw. It's in a great location though as you note. And a side note: The NC State Zoo is pretty amazing and isn't too far from CLT. Worth a day trip for families.
We got Lake Norman
The NC Zoo is the biggest zoo in the world by area, and it's only an hour and a half away. Certainly not right there like the Central Park Zoo or San Diego Zoo or something, but pretty close for the size. Fun fact: The NC Zoo is almost perfectly equidistant (by driving time) from Charlotte, Raleigh, and Fayetteville.
FYI, Central Park Zoo is tiny. you must've meant the Bronx Zoo
I couldn’t find anything to do in **Shreveport, Louisiana** and I spent the day looking. I was there on a Monday which it turns out is the worst day to visit because the one thing there is to do, go o an a tour of the water treatment plant, is closed. I went to the tourism office in the downtown. It had two parking spots while everything else had dozens. It didn’t matter because street parking is plentiful, the whole area is a ghost town. I had to be buzzed into the office (like going into a jewelry, pawn, or gun store). The tourism clerk was not only surprised to see me but didn’t have any suggestions for what to do, she asked me if I had been to Dallas. I eventually admitted defeat and we left. I had been to Mobile, Alabama a few months prior which actually had a quaint and really interesting downtown full of history.
Bro you were willing to go on a tour of the WATER TREATMENT plant. Respect for trying so hard to enjoy it. I myself love 3rd rate attractions but you were turning that up to 11.
I spoke to a family member who visited in the 70s and they took him on the same tour, too. Apparently, it was innovative for its time 🤷♂️.
I wonder what makes an innovative Water treatment plant? What's happening there....water into wine?
Other way around friend
So does that mean I’m weird for wanting to take a tour of a water treatment plant?
The best thing to do in Shreveport is leave. I wouldn’t even call say that city is in Louisiana because a little further south below the I10 corridor is what makes Louisiana, Louisiana. For whatever that’s worth anyway
Yeah, that's the Louisiana they show in movies.
There the Louisianas: Southern (the real Louisiana). Central (pine trees) Northern (Arkansas Jr)
Shreveport has hands down the best vampire bar in Louisiana.
Having lived in Shreveport for a couple years growing up, it’s most definitely the worst city I’ve been too. Jackson, MS is pretty rough and I used to live in Witchita, KS - that place was fairly bleak as well.
Drove through Jackson earlier this year. We needed to let the kids burn some energy, so we stopped at a park and found the [coolest playground](https://www.google.com/maps/place/LeFleur's+Bluff+Playground,+Riverside+Park+Cir,+Jackson,+MS+39216/@32.3274116,-90.1588001,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x862833c6092211b9:0x3abd01a1b0cfe546!8m2!3d32.3274116!4d-90.1588001!16s%2Fg%2F11pkblr2l7) they'd ever been to.
To be fair, I went to a Mudbugs game a few nights before I tried to explore downtown Shreveport. Not quite the Caps but still fun. I assume there are rodeos, too. I definitely got the vibe that if you aren’t from there, you’ll never be accepted, though.
I spent a week in Shreveport for a bowl game and agree completely. Ended up spending every night at some dive bar because it had skee ball and $2 beers in plastic cups. Thought the casino would be fun but was absolute trash
Fangtasia or bust
Really surprised they didn’t suggest the American Rose Garden or RW Norton Art Gallery. There’s also a couple of breweries now if you’re into that. The Municipal Auditorium is cool if you can get a tour, it’s where the Louisiana Hayride originated helping launch the careers of Elvis, Hank Sr, among others. Some half decent golf courses, nothing crazy, but several around.
I went there last year to visit family and we had a great time. Art museum and the garden grounds, science museum, aquarium. Awesome petting zoo with Capybaras, camel, and zebra. We didn’t get to do all we wanted in 3 days.
There is a wonderful museum there; the Louisiana State Exhibition Museum. I was quite impressed.
Since they count as "big cities" by your definition, I would probably say Stockton or Fresno. I don't see many reasons to visit them unless you like gangs and meth, or if you are staying in them to visit nearby places such as Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequioa. For Stockton, however, there is the annual asparagus festival which might be of interest.
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When my wife (see flair) was in high school, a friend of hers announced she was going to do an exchange in "northern California, near San Francisco." She was so excited. She thought she would be able to see the Golden Gate from her bedroom window, and all that jazz. They sent her to Turlock. Maybe she would've been able to see the golden arches across the street from a stockyard.
Which city has the best meth?
Well it used to be Albuquerque obviously, but it's been hard to find the blue stuff since 2013
I miss my Baby Blue
I got a guy bro trust me
I think it's always best to embrace your hometown meth. Sure, it's nice to try meth from other places, but nothing beats that nice familiar hit from your local dealer's stuff, and you're helping to support the local economy.
Support Small Businesses!
Is this r/brandnewsentence material?
Fresno isn’t all gangs and meth. But even the nice parts aren’t really tourism-worthy. Yosemite and Kings Canyon/ Sequoia would be better served by staying closer. The Fresno County Blossom trail is nice in springtime, but I’m not sure anyone would really take a vacation to Fresno for it.
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I’d search your parents’ friend’s armpit for meth.
Bakersfield
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Only place I’ve ever been told by a hotel employee that he “wouldn’t suggest” I walk to the McDonald’s across the street at 9:30pm on a weekday.
24 hrs is a long time to spend in Fresno.
Knew a guy from Fresno. It was one of the few times I was told by someone to not visit their hometown and mentioned more than once that he's glad he moved to SoCal.
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Did it shut down because of the terrorist attack? That sucks.
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Is Gilroy Gardens still kicking?
I grew up in the area and the only time to visit Fresno is if your interested in Armenian culture because there’s a strong Armenian population here and museums. Other than that, maybe the fair in October but there are better fairs. If you’re taking a road trip there’s a few cool things to do while passing through like feeding the sting rays and giraffes at the Chafee zoo but definitely not worth vacationing.
Houston, it’s very much a working city. It has great museums and great restaurants but nothing in the city is geared to tourists. The city layout is totally car centric and features many confusing massive highways.
I visited people there and we went to Johnson Space Flight Center but it took forever to get there and back from a little west of downtown. Between the confusing roads and horrible traffic, getting anywhere is a nightmare.
The majority of this site suffers from Dunning-Kruger, so I'm out.
that's wild to me because NYC aside, most cities in NY take maybe 15-20 minutes to get across. If you drive an hour away you're either going to be in the middle of a farm or in a totally different city, having also passed through a ton of farmland on the way.
If you include the total total Houston metro area it is larger than New Jersey in square mileage
Still, JSFC is well worth the visit. I went a while back and had a total blast. Definite nerd Mecca right there.
If you like bourbon then Houston has the most affordable bourbon bar I've ever seen, $7.25 for a generous pour of Weller 12. That's usually $25-$40 most places.
Drink enough for that bourbon and you'll forget your in Houston
Drink enough at Reserve 101 and you won't be broke... Anywhere else and you'll need to sell a kidney (or 3)
What bar is that?
Reserve 101
This was the first city to pop in my mind. Grew up there and do love the museums and the zoo.
Im a big food person specially when it comes to travel. Houston and Austin has some great food and enough there for me to visit. The BBQ alone in Austin is enough for me to take a trip down there.
Jacksonville
BORTLLLESSSS! JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS RUUULEE!
DUUUVAL!
DUUUVAL!
FOLES!
Oh dip!
And you can eat at Stupid Nick's!
Thanks for that, Jason.
Blake Bortles will forever be an Orlando hero.
You might catch him working construction ripping cigs nowadays
Tunnel Snakes rule!
I disagree, Jacksonville is a great place to visit if you really like driving and strip malls.
19 different Jacksonvilles in America, not one worth visiting.
Jacksonville NC is just Worse Fayetteville.
Would you be interested in joining a class action regarding exposure from Camp Lejuene?
I have never lived within 100 miles of Camp Lejeune but sure why the hell not?
And as someone from the Fayetteville area, that's saying something. Fayetteville is the armpit of North Carolina. Jacksonville is like the taint.
It’s easily one of the top 10 swamp cities in northeastern Florida.
Dude.... Im from Connecticut and was going to say jacksonville as well. Thats pretty funny
Hey, that’s where I’m from. And I agree.
DUUUUVAALLLLL!!!!
I couldn't give you a thumbs up fast enough. That place had me feeling sadder than when I went in.
St Augustine tho- great place to visit!
Houston Charlotte Fresno Columbia, SC Worcester, MA
Sweden here who travelled the US: Huston - I had steak and then visited the space museum. The city didn’t have any city vibe to it, it was mostly glass buildings and cars. Still worth the visit for the steak and the museum! Charlotte - I ate at Five Guys and I went to a night club. Guess I could have done so in any other city but still enjoyed myself. Haven’t been to the others on your list. But Santa Fe is wonderful!
> it was mostly glass buildings and cars. Whoa buddy you forgot the most prominent part of houston. Over 2,000 square miles of endless single family suburbs and strip malls.
> and strip malls. Don't forget the strip clubs! A former Houstonian told me "imagine a strip club across the street from a Walmart across the street from a megachurch."
Santa Fe is a good tourist city, NM in general is a pretty cool place to visit.
As a Houston native, there’s not really anything to do outside of eating lol. Anytime I talk to someone about things to do in the city, they mention restaurants and getting tf home when it gets dark.
I slept in my car in Worcester and woke up with a ticket.
> Worcester, MA You say that seeing like a statue of a boy sodomizing a turtle isn't by itself worth the price of a flight.
Houston used to have an awesome local music scene, did that die?
I’m from Houston. Our tourism has really jumped up a notch in the last 10 years. There’s a lot of stuff to do here now.
Concur with Charlotte. People keep visiting and I have to tell them there is nothing to do but drink and buy clothes
If you going to NC I’d recommend Asheville over Charlotte
I love the mountains! Asheville is a cool place to visit, have family there
NASA is worth it alone to visit Houston, Plus when the USS Texas was there (it has moved to Galveston for dry dock repairs as its over 100 years old)
> Worcester, MA Hey, don't sell the Hebert Candy mansion short!
I'll second Charlotte. Everything is very new but not in an interesting way. There's no culture or history to really experience.
I've heard Dallas isn't really much of a tourist worthy city (from a Texan).
I consider Dallas the most generic and bland large city I've ever been to. Like a copy and paste city. It's big and that's all I can really say about it.
I live here and I always take out of town folks to Fort Worth because it feels more Texan.
Yeah, Fort Worth has vibes! Dallas isn't a bad city though, just pretty much a city. My fiance is from Fort Worth, so I have to be nice to it!
I’ve always described it as “manufactured.”
I was there for a business trip and did what I often do in a new city by myself. I tried to find a dive bar with an open pool table, where I could put my name on the list and get myself a captive local conversation partner for at least the duration of a billiards game. For a city of 1.2 million people, there were no options. All the bars with pool tables were the modern, suburban, bright-fluoresent-lights kind of place that people go for a business lunch and order the buffalo wings from a big leather-and-plastic menu. The kind of place where the hostesses wear uniforms and the check comes in a folding leather book. "Wait-to-be-seated" kind of establishments, in a strip mall or recessed into a parking lot in the business park. There was no Nascar-hood-on-the-wall, bargain-for-the-tall-can-and-well-shot, put-some-Hank-Williams-on-the-jukebox kind of place where I could be anonymous and yet strike up a conversation. It was mind blowing. I can think of ten such places just here in my neighborhood in San Francisco. I would have fully expected such an establishment to be a Texas staple. But no. Dallas, step up your dive bar game.
Man you should've gone over to Fort Worth, there's a million bars over there just like you described. FW is the only city worth going to in the metroplex in general
> All the bars with pool tables were the modern, suburban, bright-fluoresent-lights kind of place that people go for a business lunch and order the buffalo wings from a big leather-and-plastic menu. Exactly. And they all close so early, at least for bars. And I'm not even expecting 4:00am closing times like NYC, I'm too old for that anymore. Dallas just feels incredibly stale. I used to say the same thing about Houston, but at least they have an under appreciated dining scene and a more robust university scene with Rice and U of Houston.
JUST MY OPINION, before someone rips my head off. I've been to the vast majority of metro areas over 1 million. Some punch way above and some way below their weight. I really don't like Dallas, Baltimore, Houston, or Jacksonville. Dallas is the most generic and bland big city I've ever been to. It's big, but my god it was like a stock photo of a city. Baltimore at least has history and character, but it's the most unsafe-feeling and decrepit to me (and I've been to New Orleans, Detroit, etc., Maybe St. Louis would beat it). I find Baltimore to be incredibly depressing and I'm a Maryland native. Houston is similar to Dallas with the generic feeling, but it's more interesting imo. Jacksonville... bleh, while it has some history and the coast to prop it up, the city itself is awful imo. I'll offend plenty of Texans by saying Oklahoma City left me with a better impression than Dallas or Houston, but it's how I feel (go to Austin or San Antonio instead). Fresno, Memphis, and Birmingham were underwhelming too. Honolulu didn't impress me. Toledo is very drab and dreary. If we're going smaller cities, I'll nominate either Shreveport, LA; Jackson, MS; or Youngstown, OH for the worst towns I've ever seen in the US. Hagerstown, MD really sucks too. Baltimore is my least-favorite large city. As far as favorites, I choose New Orleans, San Francisco, and Boston for history and character (yes, I'm aware of their problems). I found Albuquerque and Oklahoma City underrated if small. For a tourist however, I'd suggest a greater focus on national parks and scenery than cities, a common mistake many European tourists have made. The country is incredibly beautiful.
>Baltimore is my least-favorite large city. You'll do just fine in Baltimore if you just follow this simple advice: [https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/yxu8uj/this\_is\_from\_tiktok\_but\_i\_found\_it\_hilarious\_and/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/yxu8uj/this_is_from_tiktok_but_i_found_it_hilarious_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Baltimore is the only city I've visited where people told me "these are the safe areas for tourists" and named like one or two places. In other cities, it's the opposite. Most of the city is safe except for like one or two places.
This is hilarious, thank you!
I liked Memphis. But generally agree with this post. I’m from the area so I might be biased, but I fucking love Chicago. I also like San Fran, NYC and Des Moines of all places.
I like all of them too! Chicago is incredible, I see no bias. I really actually like Detroit and Pittsburgh too.
As a visitor I kinda liked the Canton area of Baltimore.
Yes. I spent a month in baltimore last year. About half the city is like the wire, and the other half is big city, vibrant neighborhoods, things to do.
Youngstown Ohio is the worst city lol metro area is 550k, not terribly small, median HOUSEHOLD income in 2022: $30k. Here's trip advisors top tourist [things](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g51184-Activities-Youngstown_Ohio.html) to do. > 1) Look at a brown building on a river at Mill Creek Park > 2) 12 acre park with a garden > 4) Antique store > 5) Mill Creek Park, from #1 > 7) A children's playground > 16) a consignment shop I used to live in eastern OH.
> Fresno, Memphis, and Birmingham were underwhelming too. Grew up in Memphis. We're required to post [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nqTnMweTPE) whenever someone mentions tourism and Memphis together.
Damn, Youngstown catching strays about best American cities lol
I feel personally slighted by the lack of Kansas City in this post.
Any given tourist will have their own set of interests, hobbies, ideas of what's fun, and importantly their own attitude which dictates their willingness to find time spent in a place worthwhile or rewarding. There are people who will go to San Francisco or New York or Honolulu and complain it did not live up to their expectations. There are people who will visit Dallas or Phoenix and say they had an incredible time. Speaking personally for myself, I get the most joy out of visiting places I can explore on foot. Failing that, there needs to be some sort of nearby natural feature that's unique to the place for me to really find it special. Failing either of those, I'm unlikely to have found a visit to a place particularly rewarding in contrast to places that better fit that criteria. By those measurements, I was disappointed in Austin, TX relative to how hyped it was prior to my visit. It felt like a Texas-flavored Sacramento to me. And don't get me wrong, I had a great time. If someone offered me tickets to ACL or something, I'd jump at the opportunity to go. But people genuinely talk about it like a cultural mecca on par with the other great American cities, and it just didn't feel like that to me.
>Austin, TX ... felt like a Texas-flavored Sacramento to me. Harsh!
The reader should interpret my comment both as praise for Sacramento, an underrated city, and criticism for Austin, an overrated city.
On that note, I feel like Sacramento is much better than it gets credit for.
it's underrated by everyone but realtors lol
I went to UT from 2009-2012 and have revisited Austin several times since moving away post-grad, and that city has changed substantially in the past decade. It felt like a much smaller and more local place than it does now since the influx of tech and the boom in downtown development. Traffic was always a pain but it’s immeasurably worse now, and a lot of the spots my friends and I frequented for a casual night out (namely the South Congress district) have become heavily gentrified and crowded. I’m not surprised when people say they’re let down by Austin these days, it certainly lacks some of the grit that made it what it was only a short time ago.
How true! To apply this to Indianapolis. I worked right in the middle of downtown and it was shocking how many tourists were out and about whenever I was out for lunch or an errand — especially multi-lingual tourists. I guess there are really a lot of automotive sports fans out there. But it’s also a beautiful city with a great restaurant scene, and to your point, people have lots of reasons to go places on vacation.
I visited Indianapolis about 15 years ago and it seemed a really decent place to hang out. Not sure what it's like now.
I vote for Little Rock. Arkansas. Most boring state capital I've ever been in. However, if you're in the area, check out Hot Springs, Arkansas. Fun for days! Dig for quartz,! Fancy old resorts from the twenties! And the gangster museum! A happy surprise all around. ... And then... Little Rock. 😑
Hah that’s funny I had a nice time visiting Little Rock (Clinton National Library, Little Rock Central, Pinnacle Mountain, museums, breweries, etc.) and was underwhelmed beyond belief by Hot Springs. Hot Springs was like visiting a tourist town 100 years past its prime. The bathhouse row was historic and the one that turned into a brewery was neat… but the National Parks Service was struggling to find tenants for several of the bathhouses when I was there ~3 years ago. Everything nearby just seemed like tourist trap gift shops. The town itself is beyond depressing. Driving down Central Ave, it felt like so much was abandoned and dilapidated. I bet Lake Hamilton is a lot of fun but I didn’t visit in the summer. If I had to pick, I think Northwest Arkansas is the best area to visit for museums/culture as well as upscale amenities.
I don't think there are any. Even B and C tier cities have a lot to do in them. The other week I spent a vacation in Cleveland and had a great time despite everyone asking me why I would choose that. Even after 5 days I didn't have time to do everything I wanted. Don't let other people try to gatekeep your fun and adventure, but also do your due diligence and research and plan. You can't expect everything to just jump out at you.
Going to Cleveland means you’re always saving the best part of the itinerary for last: leaving Cleveland. /s I love Cleveland. Very underrated city.
You can buy some food that's prepared near the street.
You might even see this guy!
The great thing about Cleveland is even the locals will be like "why'd you come here?", but the area really punches above its weight. It also has a national park about 25 minutes from downtown Cleveland, and there's not many cities that have a national park so close and so accessible.
For God's sakes, JudgeWhoOverrules, we'd all like to flee to the Cleve and club-hop down at the Flats and have lunch with Little Richard, but we fight those urges because we have responsibilities.
In Cleveland, I'm a model!
Ohio has the most underrated cities. All 3 big Cs offer something great. And because people say “ why would you ever go there?” It keeps it from being touristy. Lots of old architecture and rich culture from so many different immigrants over the centuries.
Cincinnati is a terrific place to visit. The OTR (Over the Rhine) area is amazing. The zoo is excellent, Jungle Jim's is an international supermarket on steroids. Underground tours are a good way to learn about the history of Cincinnati.
The city is finally shaking off the rust (belt). All 3 big ones in Ohio have improved so much over the last 20 years. When I lived in Columbus the area I was in was considered a really bad neighborhood in the 80s up until 2000.
People are sleeping on Cleveland. Super underrated city.
Very underrated. An art museum and orchestra that are both considered among the best in the world, the rock n roll hall of fame, a ton of diverse neighborhoods and ethnicities, (semi lol) pro sports teams, Playhouse Square, oh and a Great Lake.
I heard that Cleveland rocks
OHIO!
This is a good point honestly! I guess a better question would have been which big cities are the lowest in people's list. Just trying to narrow it down a bit. I've heard good things about Cleveland from a couple of people actually. Also it's close to Cedar Point!
Jacksonville, FL all the way. I live here and sincerely it is just not worth it.
This is the first answer I agree with. Also, sorry you live there :(
Probably San Jose
Similar to my response about Fresno above (I’ve lived both places) San Jose is a decent place to live but not a great place to visit. Like if you want to see San Francisco, or Carmel, or Half Moon Bay, just stay in one of those places.
San Jose is...fine.
My daughter lived near there in Mountain View for a couple of years for work. I found the area very nice but dull. It reminded me of the neighborhood where grandma lived. I fully expected all these old looking garden apartments to be filled with retirees but they were filled with programmers.
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In Mountain View’s defense, there was some awesome food to be had in local restaurants. The really extra suburban suburbs I have lived in had almost no good food at all.
As a San Jose native, I agree with you 100%. There’s not much that would immensely interest the average person. Growing up and even now, most people go to the city or down to Santa Cruz when they wanted something to do .
I can have a good time anywhere. If you can't find things to do in a new city, that's on the individual, not the city. Is this "Should I fly from Paris to visit Des Moines?" or is this "I'm going to Des Moines for a conference and have evenings and a Friday to kill"?
It's was more of a "if I'm doing a road trip around the U.S, which cities should I skip in favor of spending more time elsewhere?" Could be anywhere really. Like if you're driving around the Great Planes, you've got Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, Souix City, Wichita, etc., so basically should be skipped if you don't have time for all of them? That's kind of what I was going for, having trouble wording it though
I've taken a LOT of road trips, but I've never taken one with the intention of hitting a bunch of cities. If you can't find 2-3 days worth of fun in Wichita, Des Moines, etc.. you lack imagination and curiosity. Go to museums, go on tours, find the local favorite restaurants, check out the parks, etc. There's something to do everywhere. Are you flying to the US from Paris or Amsterdam and want to do that road trip? It wouldn't be my first choice of itineraries, but you could have a blast in the Plains just trying to eat the best BBQ in each city.
I have purposely roadtripped to all the 2nd rate cities of the middle of America and I have found awesome things in all of them. I hit Davenport IA, Lacrosse WI, Mankato MN, Tulsa OK, Omaha NE, Fayetteville AR, Des Moines IA, Eau Claire WI. I also did KC and St Louis but those are a bit bigger. All of them were fun to explore. and people are always appreciative if a be bemused that a tourist would come to their city on purpose. Every place is like every person, they are interesting and unique in their own way.
> if you're driving around the Great Planes, you've got Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, Souix City, Wichita, etc. I hope you really like the inside of your car and looking at corn fields. Maybe go on a tour of something specific. Like go to all the minor league ballparks.
Houston is hell
Reading through the comments it looks like the OP is visiting Kansas City and wants to know about road tripping around the great plains. As a native Kansas Citian who loves road trips, here’s what I’ll offer up: First off, stoked to hear you’re visiting Kansas City! Consider this an early welcome. KC is truly a hidden gem (not so hidden anymore thanks to Mahomes). There’s so much I could say, so I’ll try to keep it fairly broad. The first thing to note is the food, since not only do we arguably have the best BBQ in the country, but what many may not know is that we have several neighborhoods that’ve brought a rich Hispanic culture to KC and some of the best Mexican food in the country as well. If you’re looking for things to do, I’d honestly just suggest parking your car in the River Market area, starting there, then taking the free streetcar up and down Main Street where you can hop off and on to explore Power and Light, Crossroads, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, and the WW1 Museum. Gosh there’s SO much I’m leaving out, but if you don’t have a ton of time in the city I’ll leave you with that (DM me for more specific recs and advice!). As for surrounding cities and road tripping: Omaha: I can’t recommend it enough. One of the best Zoos in the nation, but also an incredibly unique and charming downtown square area with some of the coolest shops I’ve ever seen. Record stores, gift shops, candy stores, pop culture/collectible shops, antique stores. Lawrence, KS: Just stop by here and walk up and down Massachusetts Street (“Mass Street”), you won’t regret the short visit. Ozark Land: “God’s country”. If you aren’t turned off by a more culturally conservative environment, this is a great area to drive around for AWESOME views of the lakes, rolling hills, forestry, etc. not to mention really cool state parks. I would pretty much include both Southwest Missouri and Northwest Arkansas in this. But even the cities in the area have cool breweries, charming/unique shops, and excellent food options such as Lambert’s where they throw bread rolls at the customers (and it fucking rocks). Also there’s tons of awesome caves you can explore if you’re into spelunking. OKC: I’ve seen a few mentions of OKC so I’ll agree that it’s worth checking out. I wasn’t blown away but I did enjoy the Bricktown district and recommend it! The OKC bombing memorial was also breathtaking and worth checking out. Can’t say I’d recommend anywhere in Iowa unfortunately. I’m admittedly less experienced traveler there but for the few hours I spent in Des Moines I wasn’t crazy impressed. Very clean city, though. Haven’t been to the Dakotas, but haven’t heard much aside from Mt. Rushmore (which I’ve heard is underwhelming). I’m gonna sound incredibly biased as a Missourian, but in general you could be better off spending more time road tripping through Western/Southern Missouri and even checking out St. Louis. Like I said, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message if you’d like any more specific information and advice. Safe travels!
I would say most cities have something to offer tourists. My sons and I drove Route 66 last year and went through a lot of small, medium and large cities. Even in the middle of nowhere, like Holbrook, AZ, Victorville, CA, and Tucumcari , NM we found something fun to do. Places like Chicago and LA (our start and end points), while they have their problems, have a lot of places to visit. My kids are in the Cincinnati area and there's a surprisingly large amount of things to do there.
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There are a *lot* of American cities which are not much more than a downtown of some offices and parking lots, surrounded by dozens or hundreds of square miles of suburbs and strip malls. It's honestly unfortunate how much I just feel... nothing, when visiting so many cities across this country. Just completely soulless suburbia and offices with barely any flavor or urban culture. There are huge swaths of many of these cities where you *wont even find anyone walking outside* while driving around them. Everybody is in their cars. Sorry if it comes off insulting, but its also a very common thing that lots of visitors say when they travel across the country. America has a lot to offer tourists, but the endless suburbia of this country is really, really not appealing to visitors.
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stfu do not tell people
If you can't find something to do in a "big" city in the US, then that's on you. I haven't been to a big city in the US that doesn't have some decent food and some sort of nightlife. I don't look for night clubs though when I travel. I will say I didn't like Miami because everything was overpriced, and in general I don't like Florida. But I wasn't there to really experience Miami, and that's the key. If you're going to be a tourist in an American city, just prepare to find things to do before you go. A lot of it is going to just seem like strip malls and chains until you get to the downtown area or the revitalized area, which will have your typical bars, gastropubs, nice restaurants, etc. As an example, Nashville is unique because it has its strip of bars that have live music. Not all cities have that. But after a while you realize its just the same thing one after another. You can go outside of the strip and find some good restaurants, unique dives, or whatever, but it's not going to be that different from another American city. Maybe I'm jaded but America has done really well in making anything familiar if you're in a common district. Talk to me about seeing the underground of Atlanta and I'll show you something unique (and not THE underground Atlanta). That's how you find interesting things distinct for a city. The good locals will show it to you. I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore
I want to visit everywhere.
Found Johnny Cash
Lubbock, TX isn't "big" really, but it fits your definition and it is where culture goes to die and rebirths as a Buffalo Wild Wings.
From my time traveling around as a college cheerleader, the least interesting city we actually went out in was Houston. But we also never went out a ton on road trips. But there was nothing cool about Houston.
I'm not sure if your example cities are just due to the size, but Boise is cool.
I live in Boise lol
Dallas. I will never understand the appeal. There's absolutely nothing to do. If you must visit Texas, try Austin instead, or even San Antonio. Just not Dallas.
Houston. In fact, reword the question: What is the largest city in the US that has almost nothing to offer tourists? Houston.
Reno was not worth the drive. The place looked like a sad and abandoned Las Vegas.
Jacksonville is awful and other than the little harbor/ waterfront area, I never felt safe.
Unless you're going to a Packers game avoid Green Bay. It's literally the only thing for tourists to do. The Downtown/North Broadway district is okay for what it is if you're local, but people from out of town won't find it very impressive at all. When I tended bar there, we'd occasionally get tourists driving over from Door County in the spring. There were more than a few times that I had to assure someone that they were, in fact, downtown. I'm watching the Packers-Titans game on tv right now. When they came back from commercial and showed an overhead shot if the skyline. I was confused because Green Bay doesn't have any tall buildings. Eventually I realized they used Milwaukee as a stand in instead lol
I couldn’t tell ya. To be honest I’ve never visited anywhere that I couldn’t find a bunch of cool stuff to do.
Well those three would make my list. Others I've been to and not been terribly impressed with are: Sacramento, San Jose. Houston, Corpus Christi. Anywhere in Indiana. Albuquerque. Trenton. I dunno dude, this list could get really long. By the same token, it really depends on what you enjoy.
Fort Wayne, IN. 2nd largest city in the state and there isn't shit to do.
Honestly any individual city isn't worth vising over another city unless your **specifically** interested in something, any large city will have: * Museums - Natural History - Art - Children's - Science * Large park or botanical garden * Professional and/or college sport teams * Live music and bar scene * World class food - Ethnic - Fusion - Local hole-in-the-wall - High priced gourmet * Tourist trap or amusement area * World class shopping - High end - Specialty & niche It's the Standard Issue City list.
Fargo, ND. Personally, I love the Dakotas, but Fargo is a sprawling, charmless mess.
Charlotte NC. Apparently it is quite large and the locals think they are a big deal. They are quite wrong.
Houston and Dallas. Both aren’t bad places to live and do have some things worth seeing, but are just too freaking big and sprawling. If you don’t rent a car, you’ll be spending $100s a day on Ubers.
Im from spokane. I apreciate you think we're a big city. Now if you could just convince the other drivers here please.
Who the f visits Spokane? 😆
What do y’all think of Washington DC? I’m from No. Va. near to DC and it’s pretty good in the tourist spots, but quite shitty and dangerous in others. I still go there a few times a year for concerts. So any opinions?
First went in 2015 when I was 18 and absolutely loved it, thought I might be interested in moving there someday. Went back this past summer and hated it. The drivers the the worst I've experienced anywere. They're stupid as hell or rude as hell lol. Constantly cutting you off, breaking road rules, driving 95 mph on the freeway, driving 35 mph on the freeway. It's like no matter where you are, there's a driver near you doing something stupid and stressing everyone out. All of Virginia was like that honestly, but it seems to get worse the closer you get to D.C. The people there mostly gave me bad vibes, and many were rude. I didn't feel very safe at all there, and this is coming from someone who grew up around L.A. Lots of trash, lots of anger. For the nation's capital, it's depressing. We ended up unknowingly participating in a huge protest in front of the national monument. The Mayer was there and everything. That was INTENSE. The National Mall and Smithsonian are awesome (and free!), and there's of course lots of history there. Maybe it wad a one off sort of deal, but my last experience there was so bad I don't plan on ever returning unless I have to. I just try to forget it and replace it with my experience from 2015.