USA Travel Blog

Austin, Texas home of the cowboy, but it is also home to several other diverse people. Austin is the capital city of Texas and the fourth largest city after San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. It has been selected as the second Best Big City in ‘The Best Place to Live” by Money magazine in 2006 and was also named the “Greenest City in America” by MSN. Residents of Austin are known as “Austinites” and have given the city its name as the “The Live Music Capital of the World.

The city has vast wilderness where hikers and bikers can try out there skills. The hiking area is known as the Town Lake Hike and Bike trail which runs along the Colorado River on the southern boarder. “Silicon Hills” is another of Austin’s nicknames due to the large number of major technology corporations in the city. The “Live Music Capital of the World” nickname came from the fact that there are many musicians and music venues that can be found in the city.

Austin’s other attractions include its four major sports leagues as well as its the Blanton Museum of Art, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum , the Texas Memorial Museum,  and the galleries at the Harry Ransom Center. As a major tourist attraction in itself, Austin offers a variety of shopping areas, various restaurants for fine dining as well as for eating out and great night life which is why its patrons want to keep it the way it is and have come with the phrase “Keep Austin Weird” which refers to the city’s natives diverse and increasing lifestyle.

The City of Angeles as it is known by most of its patron’s is one of the hottest cities to visit if you are in the United States. As the largest city in California, Los Angeles has a lot to offer anyone who wants to visit. Known as the leading city where entertainment is driving force which includes music, movies, and television. Baseball and football are also key factors in the city’s growth and fame. Soccer has also become one of its leading sports.

Hollywood attracts several tourists to Los Angeles each year and makes for most of the city’s revenue. Hollywood is where most of American movies are made and you get to see a lot of the stars in action. There are several hotspots you can visit in Los Angeles even in the night like Downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood which is home of the famous Sunset Strip, Silver Lake as well as several other areas.

If you are into shopping then look no further, Los Angeles is the home to one of the most famous shopping areas in the U.S like Rodeo Drive which is where you get to find all the designer shops and is one most expensive shopping area’s in L.A. There are also places like Melrose Avenue, Hollywood and Highland Complex, as well as The Grove and 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica.

Known as the birthplace of the Blues, Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee and was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River. Memphis is home to the Blues music as well as various other forms of music like Rock n’ Roll, Gospel and ‘Sharecropper’ country music. Memphis has also been the start for many great and famous musicians like Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Johnny Cash, Three Six Mafia and Justin Timberlake.

Memphis celebrates its heritage and culture especially in the month of May, during the Memphis in May where each year the city celebrates with its neighbors from all over the world and each year the city honors a different Country celebrating various characteristics of the honored nation’s history and culture. Memphis also offers a carnival known as Carnival Memphis which was formerly known as the Memphis Cotton Carnival, where one can enjoy a variety of parties and festivities.

Memphis is also full of culture which can be found at the various museums found there. You can also try the art festival known as the Cooper Young Festival which happens annually and offers a variety of art contest, sales, displays and draws different artist from all over the United States. This is where you will get to learn the heritage, and culture of the people of Memphis.

New York City also known as the city that never sleeps and as the big apple is one of America’s coolest and most visited city. Even after the terrible devastation of 9/11 the city has still risen from the ashes and is still attracting lots of tourist each year. One of its great attractions is baseball, being the home of two of America’s greatest teams; the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.

Nightlife in the city is also a crowd puller with a lot of the famous clubs can be found in New York City. Broadway showcases new and old shows all year round and this is one of New York City’s biggest assets. The Statue of Liberty is one of New York’s famous landmarks and has greeted millions of immigrants that came to American in 19th and early 20th centuries.  Other famous landmarks and places in New York would be Wall Street, which is home of the New York Stock Exchange.

New York comes with diversity as well as a mixture of several cultures. The Harlem Renaissance is home to some of this mix cultures and provides a home for different forms of art which ranges from visual art, abstract expressionism in painting and hip hop. Some of the tallest buildings in the world can be found in New York City like the Empire State Building as well as the famous former Twin Towers that came down during the 9/11 attack.

Known as the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia or Philly as most people call it is the fifth largest city in the US and the second largest in the East Coast after New York. Philly is best known for being the home of freedom and liberty and this portrayed by the Liberty Bell which can be found there. The Liberty Bell Center is home of several exhibitions which feature women suffrage, as well as slavery and the civil rights movement.

Other attractions include the Betsy Ross House, which was home to the lady who made the made the first American Flag. You can also visit America’s first Zoo, which is found in Philadelphia as well as take a tour of the Zoo and get to see many endangered wildlife and its workshops, educational programs and special events. If you are a family and want to have a good time then try out the Sesame Place which is a great spot for family fun and is home to characters from the famous kids show Sesame Street.

Philadelphia is also home to some of the U.S fine arts schools as well as the scene of America’s oldest art school and museum. The city is also home to America’s oldest opera house which was built in 1857. You can also get to do lots of shopping and experience different forms of entertainment, museums, night spots as well as fine dining.

Portland, Oregon

This beautiful and magnificent city offers you the time of your life and offers you the chance to discover the City of Roses. There various places and hotels where you can put your feet up and take a rest. There several coffee houses offering you the best of Portland delight. The city’s night life is one to check out; you can try the various club scenes like the Doug Fir Lounge.

Portland has many rose gardens all over the city and that is why it is known as the City of Roses. It rains a lot in Portland and you find during that time a lot of its natives are in the coffee houses or bookstores catching up. It is a beautiful and homely city and also has a bit of naughtiness to it with its many strip clubs in fact it has more strip clubs than even Las Vegas.

Natural beauty is what Portland offers you and has several parks where you can get to see its variety of roses. The city has learnt to preserve all its natural surroundings as well as its wildlife and fishes. Portland also offers you art as well as performing arts. Most of the cities art can be found in the Portland Art Museum.