Top 10 Things To Do in the USA (City Guides) Wimup

Quick answer · where to go in the United States

First trips work best as one city and one drive. New York for a week of museums, food and neighborhoods, then either San Francisco and the California coast or Miami and the Florida Keys. Plan around the distances rather than against them: New York to Los Angeles is a six-hour flight, and the interior between them is the part worth a car. April to June and September to October give the widest band of usable weather across the country at once.

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Jump to City guides Fun fact Stereotypes Famous Americans Food FAQ

8 United States city guides

Sorted by what travelers are saving this month.

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

The National Park System runs to 433 units across more than 85 million acres, an area larger than the whole of the United Kingdom. Only 63 of them carry the National Park title. The rest are monuments, seashores, battlefields and parkways.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to fit in.

"Americans are loud and superficial"

The realitySmall talk is a courtesy rather than a claim of friendship. A stranger asking how your day is going means it politely, and the warmth behind it is real even when the conversation lasts a minute.

"You need a car everywhere"

The realityTrue across most of the map and wrong in the cities worth the most time. New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington and San Francisco all work on foot and rail. Rent the car for the stretch between them.

"It is all fast food"

The realityEvery city runs on immigrant kitchens, farmers markets and regional cooking that predates the chains: Gulf seafood, New Mexican chile, Californian produce, Carolina barbecue.

"One trip can cover it"

The realityNew York to Los Angeles is close to 4,000 km and a six-hour flight. Pick a region, finish it, and come back for the next one.

Red cups at every partyFree refills and ice in everythingYellow school buses and Friday night footballPortions built for twoSmall talk with total strangersFlags on front porchesRoad trips scored by the radio

Cultural notes that actually help

Tipping is part of the price. Restaurant staff are paid against tips, so 18 to 20 percent is the working norm rather than a bonus.
Sales tax is added at the till. The shelf price is almost never what you pay, and the rate changes by state and by city.
Tap water arrives free and full of ice without being asked for. Say so if you want it any other way.
Lines are policed socially. Cutting one draws comment in a way that jumping a metro barrier does not.
The drinking age is 21 everywhere and bars card on sight, whatever your age. Carry a passport if you plan to drink.
Distances are quoted in hours, not miles. When someone says a place is close, ask how long the drive takes.

Famous American faces

The names behind American music, screen, writing, science and sport. Pick a field.

Abraham Lincoln

President who held the Union together and ended slavery

Martin Luther King Jr.

Minister who led the civil rights movement and the march on Washington

Muhammad Ali

Heavyweight champion, and the loudest conscience in American sport

Bob Dylan

Songwriter who turned folk into literature, and won the Nobel for it

Marilyn Monroe

Actor whose image outlived every film she made

Toni Morrison

Novelist of Beloved, and the first Black woman to win the Nobel in Literature

Neil Armstrong

First person to walk on the Moon

Steve Jobs

Co-founder of Apple, and the reason a phone looks like this

George Washington

Commander of the Revolution and the first president

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President through the Depression and the Second World War, elected four times

Rosa Parks

Her refusal to give up a bus seat started the Montgomery boycott

Barack Obama

First Black president of the United States

Louis Armstrong

New Orleans trumpeter who made the jazz solo the center of the music

Aretha Franklin

The voice of soul, out of Detroit

Johnny Cash

Country singer who played Folsom Prison to the inmates

Beyoncé

Houston singer who turned the album release into an event

Meryl Streep

The most nominated performer in Academy Award history

Denzel Washington

Two Academy Awards, and a stage career to match

Steven Spielberg

Director of Jaws, E.T. and Schindler's List

Katharine Hepburn

Four Best Actress Oscars, more than any other performer

Mark Twain

Author of Huckleberry Finn, and the closest thing to an American voice

Ernest Hemingway

Novelist who stripped the English sentence back to its bones

Maya Angelou

Poet and memoirist of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

James Baldwin

Essayist and novelist on race, exile and America

Thomas Edison

Inventor with over a thousand US patents, and the industrial research lab

Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician whose orbital calculations put astronauts in space

Richard Feynman

Nobel physicist, and the finest explainer of his century

Grace Hopper

Computer scientist behind the first compiler and the language that became COBOL

Jackie Robinson

Broke baseball's color line in 1947

Serena Williams

23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of the open era

Michael Jordan

Six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls

Simone Biles

The most decorated gymnast in world championship history

Henry Ford

Put the country on wheels with the moving assembly line

Walt Disney

Animator who built a studio, then built a theme park around it

Oprah Winfrey

Talk show host who became a media proprietor

Must-try American food

The classics first, then barbecue, the regional plates and the sweets. Pick a category.

Cheeseburger

The national default, and the best ones are griddled thin rather than thick.

Hot dog

Steamed or grilled, and dressed differently in every city that claims it.

Buffalo wings

Fried, tossed in cayenne and butter, cooled with blue cheese.

Fried chicken

Brined, floured and fried. The biscuit alongside is not optional.

Mac and cheese

Baked with a crust in the South, stovetop and loose north of it.

Pancakes with maple syrup

The diner breakfast, with the bacon on the same plate.

Biscuits and gravy

Soft biscuits under a peppery pork sausage gravy.

Reuben sandwich

Corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss, griddled in rye.

Texas brisket

Salt, pepper, post oak smoke and most of a day. Nothing else.

Carolina pulled pork

Whole hog, chopped, dressed in a thin vinegar sauce.

Kansas City ribs

Thick tomato and molasses sauce, caramelised over the fire.

Memphis dry ribs

Rubbed rather than sauced, so the crust does the work.

Santa Maria tri-tip

California's barbecue: beef over red oak, sliced across the grain.

New England clam chowder

Cream, potato and quahog, thick enough to hold a spoon upright.

Gumbo

Dark roux, the holy trinity of onion, celery and pepper, and whatever the season brings.

Philly cheesesteak

Chopped ribeye and melted cheese in a long roll.

Bagel with lox

Boiled then baked, split, and loaded with cream cheese and cured salmon.

Chicago deep-dish pizza

A buttery crust wall, cheese under the sauce, eaten with a fork.

Green chile stew

New Mexico in a bowl. The state question is red or green.

Breakfast tacos

Texas mornings: egg, potato and salsa in a flour tortilla.

Maryland crab cakes

Blue crab, almost no filler, and a heavy hand with Old Bay.

Poke

Hawaii's raw fish bowl, cubed and dressed with soy and sesame.

Apple pie

Double crust and cinnamon, warm, with ice cream if you are doing it properly.

Key lime pie

Florida's tart custard on a graham crust, and never green.

Pecan pie

Southern, sweet, and heavy on the syrup.

New York cheesecake

Dense, plain and baked, with nothing on top.

Cinnamon roll

Enriched dough, brown sugar spiral, cream cheese glaze.

Bottomless filter coffee

The diner pot comes back around before you ask it to.

Sweet tea

Iced, and sugared while still hot. Standard across the South.

Old fashioned

Bourbon or rye, sugar, bitters and one large piece of ice.

Root beer float

Sassafras-flavored soda poured over vanilla ice cream.

Craft IPA

The country has thousands of breweries and this is the flagship style.

United States travel FAQ

How many days do you need in the United States?+

Ten to fourteen for a first trip, built around one city and one drive. A week works if you stay inside a single region, say New York and New England, or California from San Francisco south.

When is the best time to visit the United States?+

April to June and September to October. Those windows give usable weather across most of the country at once, while July and August are hot in the South and busy everywhere.

Do you need a visa for the United States?+

Citizens of the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries apply online for an ESTA and can stay up to 90 days. Everyone else applies for a visitor visa at a US embassy or consulate, and the interview appointment is the part to book early.

Can you travel the United States without a car?+

Between regions, fly: domestic routes are frequent and usually faster and cheaper than the train. Inside New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington and San Francisco the transit is enough. Almost everywhere else assumes a car.

How much should you tip in the United States?+

18 to 20 percent in restaurants and bars, a couple of dollars a bag for hotel porters, and something similar for taxis and rides. Tipping is how service staff are paid rather than a reward for exceptional service.

Top 10s across the United States