Boston and Philadelphia are both US cities with rich histories that helped shape the nation. Both have world-class institutions of art and culture, sports teams with hordes of committed fans, and both cities make culinary claims to fame. But if you can visit only one of them, which should it be? To help you decide, we asked two writers to make the case for their favorite city and what makes it so special.
Author of Lonely Planet Boston and Pocket Boston, Mara Vorhees has been living in the Olde Towne since the last millennium. Her favorite way to spend a morning is riding her bike along the Charles River.
When I first moved to Boston, I thought I had landed in the smartest place on the planet. I immediately fell in love with the city’s vibrant student culture and the pervasive love of learning. I still think Boston is wicked smart, but now I know that’s just the beginning of what this dynamic city has to offer. There’s also momentous history, diverse art and music, dramatic sports and – not the least – delectable seafood. This is all packed into a compact city center covering only a few square miles.
But while it is small in size, Boston is not small in stature. Indeed, this city by the sea offers arts, education and innovation to rival cities twice its size (I’m looking at you, Philly). The city’s world-class cultural institutions rank among the finest in the country, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of Fine Arts. A contemporary art scene is thriving in the SoWa Arts District and at the stunning Institute for Contemporary Art. Dozens of colleges and universities – and all of their students – provide a renewable source of energy, creativity and local culture around the city.
Speaking of local culture, Boston is an awesome sports town, thanks to its teams’ storied histories and winning records. We admit that we’re still a little bitter about the Eagles’ victory over the Patriots in the 2018 Super Bowl. But who can dwell on one game, when the Pats have six Super Bowl banners hanging at Gillette Stadium? Add that to the Red Sox’s nine World Series victories and the Celtics’ whopping 18 championships (more than any other NBA team), and you’ll start to understand the origins of the nickname City of Champions. It’s true that Boston sports fans can be, shall we say, “extra,” but Philly supporters might actually have us beat there.
Finally, it needs to be said: no city can match Boston for its role in US revolutionary history, not even Philadelphia. This is where the Sons of Liberty stirred up resistance to harsh British tax policies, with protests like the Boston Tea Party (which visitors today can reenact at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum). This is where the
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In the summer of 2022, Carley Schweet, her husband, their toddler son, and their then nine-month-old daughter flew from Seattle to Lexington, Kentucky, to visit family. After they arrived, their daughter became congested and developed a fever. The couple, newly parents of two, thought the infant just had a bad summer cold. So they decided to stay in Lexington and then travel as planned to Chicago, where their daughter’s fever spiked again. They were only in Chicago for 48 hours, and while they thought about visiting a local urgent care, with guidance from their pediatrician, the couple patched up their daughter the best they could and flew back to Seattle.
Here at TPG, we love our transferable credit card points. You can use them to book award travel with various airline and hotel partners, even if you're not loyal to said airlines and hotels. For instance, I once transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to World of Hyatt and redeemed them for a weeklong stay in Hawaii — even though I'd never set foot in a Hyatt.
Frontier Airlines is giving a salute to service. The budget airline has a special Veterans Day promotion, with a 50 percent discount on base fares for active and retired Military, and military families. Eligible service members can use the promotional codeVETS for the airfare discounts on Frontier’s booking site. The fare sale runs through Sunday, October 27, and is valid on travel through December 18. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of discounted flights including:
Whenever you're dreaming of cosmopolitan cities, glistening lakes, and verdant mountain vales—that's the best time to visit Switzerland. If the mood strikes you to dip into Lake Geneva in the summertime, or cozy up in the winter for a dinner of raclette-covered everything, you need to go to Switzerland as soon as you can. As for the actual logistics of how to time your visit to this landlocked European country of centuries-old culture and commerce, it all depends on what you want to get out of your trip.
The best time to visit Madrid varies, and it depends on what you're looking for on your trip to Spain. Poolside lounging and people-watching in plazas under guaranteed sunshine is possible between mid-spring and early autumn, but the height of summer can make outdoor sightseeing a little unbearable. Madrid’s restaurants are fabulous year-round, and the food scene is thriving like never before, but there’s a charm to scouring the local markets and following fellow foodies as they spill into sprawling parks to tuck in either side of the midday sun. Here, we run through the seasonal highlights of the Spanish capital, explaining why it’s possible to uncover a new side to the city every month of the year.
DJs play thumping sets inside tiny taco joints as the fruity smell of shisha drifts past Turkish barbers and trendy crowds gather outside arthouse cinemas.
If you enjoy a big-ship experience but prefer that your vessel's sundeck not resemble a water park, then both Holland America Line and Princess Cruises should be on your short list.
I've had a soft spot for American Airlines Flagship First for more than a decade. It's the last true international first-class product being flown by any American carrier. But Flagship First has been around since the early 2010s, and American plans to formally retire the product in the coming years.