[attach]6217[/attach] America's Favorite Cities With Travel + Leisure
From sea to shining sea, the United States of America has the best, brightest, and most exciting cities in the world. But with its bounty of metropolitan riches, it's sometimes hard to decide between destinations when you're up for a domestic trip. Thank the travel-ready gods, then, for Travel + Leisure magazine's annual round-up of Americans' favorite U.S. cities in various categories. T+L editor-in-chief Nancy Novogrod recently sat down with LIFE to give readers an early scoop on this year's winners, including the always-entertaining T+L look at America's most and least attractive people.
[attach]6218[/attach] Best Skyline: Chicago
"A few decimal points are always the only thing separating New York, San Francisco, and Chicago in this category," Novogrod says. "But there’s a reason Chicago usually pulls out the victory: Not only does it have the architectural lineage, but it keeps innovating with features like the Skydeck, the 103rd-floor observation deck in the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower."
[attach]6219[/attach] Most Active People: Denver
"Denverites have claimed this title every year for the past four years," Novogrod says. "Of course, they wouldn’t have any excuse not to: they have 300 sunny days a year, beautiful parks, and the Rocky Mountains out the back door."
[attach]6220[/attach] Smartest People: Portland, Oregon
"Portland’s been improving in this category over the past three years and has finally knocked off past winners Minneapolis and Seattle," Novogrod says. "It helps that the city’s eco-friendliness has been attracting growing attention, especially with start-ups focused on solar power. And how does this affect the traveler? Well, all those energetic smarties need great places to eat." (Here: Portland resident and Linux creator Linus Torvalds.)
[attach]6221[/attach] Best Live Music: Nashville
"With Austin and New Orleans in the pool, Nashville’s victory wasn’t a runaway by any means. But music plays such a big role in anyone’s visit here that the win wasn’t a surprise, either," Novogrod says. (Here: Performers entertain at the Grand Ole Opry.)
[attach]6222[/attach] Best Luxury Hotels: Las Vegas
"The Aria at CityCenter is Vegas’s latest shot across the luxury hotel bow, but Sin City’s been opening high-end properties faster than most people lose their shirts. Still, it’s a competitive category: New York finished just .06 points behind," Novogrod notes.
[attach]6223[/attach] Best People-Watching: New Orleans
"Plenty of eclectic characters make their way to the Big Easy," Novogrod says. "And whether they’re playing Dixieland or dispensing wisdom while wearing strange outfits, they’re tough to miss."作者: evaxiaofan 时间: 2010-11-9 22:17
本帖最后由 evaxiaofan 于 2010-11-9 22:28 编辑
[attach]6224[/attach] Best Museums: Washington, D.C.
"Where else can you find the Spirit of St. Louis airplane and priceless African artwork within steps of each other — and all of it free?" Novogrod asks. (Here: Orange tulips pep up the lawn in front of the Smithsonian Institute Castle.)
[attach]6225[/attach] Best Theater: New York City
"The whole 'if you can make it here' theme never gets old; the Big Apple still attracts America’s best talent, even for off-off-Broadway productions. Throw in Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice — for free last summer and now on Broadway — and other cities probably have stage fright," Novogrod says.
[attach]6226[/attach] Best Romantic Getaways: Honolulu
"Luaus, alohas, and leis — that’s all part of mass-produced Hawaiian romance. Get beyond that and you’ll learn what our voters really find romantic about Hawaii: its diverse landscape and warm people," Novogrod says. (Here: A vacationing couple strolls along Waikiki Beach.)
[attach]6227[/attach] Best Weather: San Diego
"There’s something to be said for consistency. Steady sunshine and warm temperatures make San Diego an easy destination to pack for; and your flight likely won’t be delayed due to weather, which always helps influence voting in this category," Novogrod says.
[attach]6228[/attach] Best Family Getaways: Orlando, Florida
"Sure, Orlando’s long been an almost-mandatory family vacation, but the city hasn’t been resting on its mousey laurels — travelers will find more luxury hotels and sophisticated restaurants than ever before," Novogrod says. "Still, its attractiveness to all kinds of clans makes it tough to beat in this category." (Here: Actress Catherine Bell and daughter Gemma get some time with Minnie Mouse in the Magic Kingdom.)
[attach]6229[/attach] Best-Looking People: Charleston, South Carolina
"Miami held this title for three straight years, but it seems the attractive people have traded South Beach for southern charm," Novogrod says. (Here: Supermodel and Charleston native Lauren Hutton poses in 1974.) For the full results of this year's polls for America's Favorite Cities, go to the Travel + Leisure website.作者: davy10 时间: 2010-11-10 07:56
Best sunshine :California 作者: evaxiaofan 时间: 2010-11-10 10:32
