Guatemala is an incredibly diverse country that offers some of the best natural attractions and hiking in the region.
16.09.2023 - 23:15 / lonelyplanet.com
Think the Midwest is just a cornfield you fly over between coasts? Don’t be fooled by that nonsense.
The region holds impressive cities like Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, full of creativity, diversity and forking good food. It also cradles the Great Lakes, which are like huge inland seas, offering beaches, dunes, resort towns and lighthouse-dotted scenery. Then there are the goofball roadside attractions – say the National Mustard Museum or the world’s largest ball of twine – that pop up throughout the area, plus a deep legacy of beer-making that’s still in full flow, not to mention the reasonable travel costs.
So why aren’t you here yet? Read on for what you need to know before you visit the Midwest.
Summer is peak season in the Midwest. Late May through August is when the weather warms, beaches splash and festivals rock. It’s the time to see the region in all its glory. September and October bring fall colors, bountiful orchard harvests and shoulder-season bargains, while temperatures remain pleasant – another great time to visit.
Winter tends to be cold and snowy. Some businesses reduce their hours or close for the season, though many places in northern Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin stay busy with skiers and snowmobilers. Lodgings and attractions in the cities typically offer their lowest prices during winter.
April and May also can be good-value months to visit, though the weather is unpredictable. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio have moderate temperatures, but it's often rainy, while the northern states can still be quite chilly.
Chicago’s busy O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is the main gateway to the region. It’s a hub for both United and American airlines. Other big bases are Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), a hub for Delta and Spirit airlines, and Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP), a hub for Delta and Sun Country airlines.
Amtrak's national rail network centers on Chicago. Trains go daily to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit, Ann Arbor and Cleveland, and three times per week to Indianapolis.
Once you’re in the region, you’ll need a car to get around. Public transportation is scant outside of the main cities, and even within cities – with the exception of Chicago, which has a good bus and train system – you’ll likely need your own wheels to travel with ease. Be prepared for toll roads in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota. Use an app like Google Maps to route you around toll roads or stock up on dollar bills and quarters to use at toll booths.
The Midwest is vast, defined by the Census Bureau as including 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. To drive from Minneapolis in the west to
Guatemala is an incredibly diverse country that offers some of the best natural attractions and hiking in the region.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a city on the rise; so much so that it just joined our Readers’ Choice Awards list of the best big cities in the US, ranking third—just behind San Diego and Chicago. Long considered nearby Chicago's little sibling, Milwaukee has finally come into its own by growing amongst younger people for its affordability over the Second City, allowing people to buy homes and rent better apartments. Not to mention the growing restaurant scene, new infrastructure increasing walkability, and enough city amenities for the Midwest gem to truly feel desirable—it’s no longer just a small town. And with so many local colleges and a venerated art museum, there is strong curiosity and willingness to embrace the new.
Renowned for its jaw-dropping architecture, world-class museums and mouth-watering street food (did some say deep-dish pizza?) it's no wonder Chicago was voted the second-best city in the world by media and hospitality giant TimeOut.
Berlin’s food scene is flourishing as never before. Over the past decade or so, partly thanks to relatively inexpensive rents and the city’s reputation for fostering creativity, local culinary entrepreneurs have been given platforms to experiment and grow, and chefs and restaurateurs have been drawn here from all over the world. Danish-born, Icelandic-trained chef Victoria Eliasdóttir is currently culinary director at vegetable-focused Dóttir; Vancouverite Dylan Watson-Brawn, chef and co-founder of Michelin-starred Ernst and its minimalist ‘little brother’, Julius, was named the top chef in Germany by Gault-Millau in 2022.
Tourists descended on an ancient town in Thailand this week after UNESCO named it a world heritage site, prompting officials to consider banning visitors from climbing the 1,500-year-old ruins.
For decades, authors, artists and presidents have all been drawn to the Hudson Valley in New York.
What are the friendliest places in America? The self-storage company Neighbor.com has just released its fourth annual list of America’s 25 Most Neighborly Cities, in honor of National Neighbor Day. The 2023 study ranks U.S. cities based on factors like charitable donations, volunteering, crime rates and more.
When talking about Osaka, it’s nearly impossible not to mention the culinary culture that’s made the city a destination for food lovers. But to focus solely on Osaka’s famous okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) and takoyaki (battered octopus balls) would do a great disservice to Japan’s third-largest city. It may be a sprawling metropolis but Osaka has the feel of an easygoing European coastal city, with a sense of openness and a slower pace than its big brother, Tokyo. First-time visitors tend to make a beeline for Osaka Castle, browse the food stalls on a walk through Kuromon Ichiba Market and later venture out to Universal Studios on the edge of the city. But another great way to get a true taste of Osaka is to dive into its diverse neighbourhoods.
The word Patagonia conjures dreamy images of wide-open spaces, remote natural beauty, massive glaciers, soaring Andes, outdoor adventures and iconic wildlife on land and at sea. The Patagonia region of Argentina, which includes the southernmost third of the country all the way south to Ushuaia, the most southerly city in the world, delivers all of that and more.
While the Caribbean is home to its fair share of wildlife-filled islands—Saint Lucia, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, to name a few—one of the region’s most underrated ecotourism destinations measures in at just a mere thirteen square kilometers in area. Known as Saba, this dazzling Dutch overseas region holds a king-sized level of biodiversity in spite of its small size, packed full of fascinating fish, reptiles, and birds for visitors to marvel at—and when it comes to avian life in particular, the Saba Bird Fest is one of the island’s most unmissable events.
Road trips in Montana really take you places. Massive mountains, glacier lakes, and wild rivers unfurl outside the window on the state’s wide-open roads, each diving into a state of exploration and pure natural wonder. And with plenty of Western scenery and outstretched landscapes along the way, road-tripping across Montana proves it’s all about the journey between destinations.
Visitors often come to Portland, Maine, for the first time because they want to spend a summer weekend in a quaint city by the water, or because they’ve heard about the city’s superlative seafood (80 percent of the United States’ lobster comes from Maine). Seduced by the easy access to nature and relative affordability, many return for longer stays or even for good. Between 2020 and 2022, Maine’s population had the highest percentage increase of any New England state.