History is a series of places in time, and these fine cities are known for their roles in shaping American history and popular culture. A visit to these uniquely American cities will provide you with a glimpse into America’s past.
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Atlanta, Georgia
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
Boston, Massachusetts
The Boston Tea Party. The midnight ride of Paul Revere. Boston is alive with history. It is an historic and accessible city, and you can see it by car, in an open-air tour bus or even by boat!
Boston is a very walkable city, with a compact downtown area offering unlimited opportunity for exploration of history, enjoyment of art and science, stage plays, symphony and ballet, and endless shopping – all within a few square miles.
Boston is fascinating at any time of year, but spring may be the best. A walking tour of the city along the historic Freedom Trail is a treat in many ways. This walk may last anywhere from two hours to two days, depending upon just how many sites you want to explore in depth. Once you arrive at the Boston Commons, enjoy the breathtaking tulips and lilies that are planted in the spring, particularly exquisite around Easter time.
There are also 128 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area. Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Northeastern University, Boston College and Boston University are each a stone’s throw from downtown Boston.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The nation’s first capital, Philadelphia manages to retain a small-town charm despite all of its historical and cultural significance. Shady cobbled alleys stand lined with red-brick colonial houses, while the peace and quiet of huge Fairmount Park make it easy to forget you're in a major metropolis.
Independence National Historic Park is a series of modest brick buildings and green lawns of "America's Most Historic Square Mile." The Declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the public here in Independence Square on July 4, 1776, and the victorious revolutionaries later hashed out the world's most enduring articles of democratic government in adjacent Independence Hall. These Georgian brick buildings served as the nation’s capital from 1776-1800 while Washington, DC, was being built.
Philadelphia -- the "City of Brotherly Love" -- is in fact one of the most ethnically mixed US cities, with substantial communities of Italians, Irish, eastern Europeans and Asians living side by side among the majority black population. This ethnic mix reflects the city’s liberalism and tolerance. Philadelphia's history and cultural institutions – as well as its traditional neighborhoods – reflect this great city’s energy and livelihood.
Historical or not, Philadelphia’s attractions – from the Liberty Bell to the Franklin Institute to Penn’s Landing – are not only educational and inspiring, they’re exciting as well.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta - a city with great metropolitan style and true Southern culture - is a relatively young city. A little more than a minor transportation center until Sherman's army destroyed it in 1864, an act immortalized in Gone with the Wind, Atlanta's rebirth started soon after.
Atlanta today is the prototype of the fast-growing and prosperous "New South," serving as home to companies like Coca-Cola and CNN. It is also one of he most prominent arts and cultural centers in the country, offering:
- music, dance and theatrical performances;
- museums (like the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site, Georgia's most-visited attraction, and the Woodruff Arts Center's High Museum, one of the best contemporary and African art collections in the South);
- art galleries; and
- popular parades and festivals.
With more than 500 theater, dance, music, visual and media art groups, Atlanta's cultural calendar is always full.
Atlanta is surrounded by historical landmarks, including Civil War battlefield parks, the Margaret Mitchell house, where the novelist penned her Pulitzer-prize winning Gone With the Wind and Centennial Park, site of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Whether touring Civil War battlefields or taking the Coca-Cola tour, Atlanta is an accessible city that will charm you with its old-fashioned southern hospitality.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco is more than a city of steep hills, cable cars and neatly-lined row houses. The birthplace of the yuppie and the “dot.com” millionaire, San Francisco is perhaps most famous for being a mecca for hippies in the 1960s. (The intersection of Haight and Ashbury still draws tourists and streetcorner musicians.)
San Francisco is chock-full of sites that are world-famous – such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf – and obscure – the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia and the Basic Brown Bear Factory. Although the city is constantly reinventing itself, some things never change. It is still a great place for shopping, dining and sightseeing. Be sure to check out
- Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square, which features stores, restaurants and live entertainment;
- Chinatown, where you can dine or shop one of the many bakeries, teahouses and markets; and
- Alcatraz prison, made famous by the escapes from this “escape-proof” facility.
San Francisco has successfully transformed itself from a Gold-Rush destination to a burgeoning metropolis to the cradle of high-tech industry and wealth.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is a rare urban environment, densely packed with scenic hills and tree-lined streets, and snow-capped mountains visible in almost every direction. Grunge music, coffee houses and high technology were either created or reborn here, and it’s easy to see why this city is a symbol of America’s future as well as its past.
Big-city convenience has not been sacrificed for cosmopolitan culture here. Its historic districts hold the best in the city's arts, shopping and nightlife. And increases in tourism and population prove that more people are flocking to the Pacific Northwest not only for technology jobs but also to experience this unique culture.
Seattle was mainly a port city reliant on the timber industry until key companies like Microsoft and Starbucks made this a capital for high technology and coffee consumption in the 1980s and 1990s. Perhaps equally important, at least in public perception, was the advent of grunge music, with Seattle as its nominal birthplace, which led to the meteoric rise of bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
Though Seattle’s reputation as a world-class city isn’t as established as New York or Chicago, it is home to numerous attractions that enchant visitors and residents alike. They include:
- the Space Needle, built for the 1962 World’s Fair;
- the University of Washington;
- Puget Sound; and
- the Pike Place Market, the best open-air urban market in the US.