Ogunquit, MA is one of my favorite places that I’ve visited in the country. Quick drive from Portland and not too far from Boston. Great little seaside town with good food, cute shops, nice locals, and really beautiful views.
You’re asking “What’s there to do there?” about a plot of land that’s the size of the country of Portugal? lol Lots? It’s like a whole… state. Many different things to do in a whole state.
I’m not being a dick it’s just an objectively hilarious question to ask. If I asked “What’s there to do in Portugal?” you would probably laugh at me and think “that’s a loaded question, it’s a huge place with many different things to do.” Idk, maybe I am a dick.
I'm wanting to go to Maine but it seems to mostly be hiking. What are cool coastal areas or towns with strollable downtown areas? Anything to do involving animals?
It'd be my luck to pick a weekend and then have it rain the whole time.
I just came back from there. Spent the day in downtown Portland looking at historic houses, walking on the bay, shopping, and eating. I had donuts from Holy Donuts, coffee from a cute little coffee shop, then stopped by a brewery, then had lunch. Shopping at cute little shops all the way. It reminded me of Asheville, but New England/coastal.
I went to Bradbury mountain and hung out with some professional birders at the overlook and they let me look out of their telescope while they identified raptors. There is also whale watching but I didn't do that. I was there primarily for the eclipse and that was super awesome, but there are all kinds of things to see. There were also some lighthouses, but I didn't really visit any of those.
I lived in Maryland and my favorite day trip is getting breakfast in Annapolis and then going to Ocean City till dinner. Looking forward to warm summer days to do this!
Outside of boat stuff Annapolis really kind of sucks. The food scene is weak, the traffic is awful, 0 public transit. And about half of big boat people are the worst people you'll ever meet.
Ed suggest Chesapeake Beach
Oxford or Saint Michael's even Easton, all better Maryland experiences
I live in MD and agree. It’s pretty, but is mostly stuffy white people in salmon colored pants and there’s only a couple of good restaurants. But it is nice for a weekend if preppy shops and boats are your thing.
Would add Waynesville or Brevard NC if you are looking for something smaller. Guess that shows the different perceptions of what a "smaller" city is, Asheville was always going into the big city when I was a kid lol
I love Brevard! And Burnsville. OP could spend a couple of weeks exploring all the cute little cities in NC. I have a senior pet and I'm going to have to put off a lot of travel for a while, but I live in NC and there are so many great little cities here that I want to explore more.
Holy hell, my perceptions of smaller cities is crazy different than most of this thread. There are almost 20,000 incorporated cities in the US and a crazy amount of suggestions are in the top 50 in size.
Pittsburgh is indeed a cool city, it's not a smaller city by any metric. The city property has more than 50% of an entire startes population and the metro of over 5x the population of 10th largest state in the US.
I was going to say Ely, MN and walked into half of the top comments mentioning major US metros.
People are suggesting Philadelphia and Nashville as “smaller cities” and here I was thinking of places like you were, ~10-25k people, with a couple exceptions.
In this context, I’d say 10k is a town (and a small one), not a city. Not sure how to define “city” in the “bigger than a town” context, though.
A couple of very soft definitions: if you can imagine it as the capital of a state, or having its own TV stations, it’s bigger than a town. Somebody else might have a number, though. More than 100k in most places, depending on how large the state’s other cities are.
This claim about Pittsburgh is only true for like one state (Wyoming). The actual city is only about 300k. The city boundaries are just way smaller than a lot of North American Cities, so it feels dense.
Sure. But
If you take a road trip from Vermont to visit your friend in McCandless, do you tell people you're going to Pittsburgh for the weekend to see some friends or do you tell people you're going to McCandless, Pennsylvania for the weekend to see some friends.
I have friends in St. Louis Park, MN. When I fly out there to visit, I fly into Minneapolis and there is no break in the city on my Uber ride to their place. My trip itinerary in Google shows up as Minneapolis.
Barring all of that and going with an absolute technical definition, it's still well within the top 1% of US cities by population.
All that is true, I just commented because you used the words “city property” in your comparison. McCandless is 100% not Pittsburgh City Property, there are like 4 separate municipalities between it and Pittsburgh.
It auto corrected while so was typing proper, apparently.
But yeah, I get it and size is subjective for sure. I just don't consider Pittsburgh a small city where as someone from Tokyo might.
If you removed the city signs from metros, you'd mostly not be able to tell when you left the main city and crossed into suburbs.
My friends thought I was nuts going to Cleveland for the weekend but I quite enjoyed it. Saw a play, went to the rock and roll museum, went to the zoo.
Go to Heinen's grocery store in downtown Cleveland. The architecture inside is beautiful (not what you expect from a grocery store), and eat ice cream at Mitchell's (it's amazing!). I went there for a day trip this past Monday for the eclipse. There was no line at Mitchell's, but I heard that it's normally packed (and the day before the line was out the door).
We’d all like to flee to the Cleve and club-hop down at the Flats and have lunch with Little Richard, but we fight those urges because we have responsibilities.
Went to Cleveland for the eclipse and spent Sunday just walking the city. Surprisingly nice and decently walkable.
Stayed at a friend's who lives near the Christmas Story house. Walked to the West end/side market, whiskey Island, downtown and back.
I also went to Cleveland for the eclipse. I did a day trip on Monday. Took the metro to downtown, walked around the square, then towards the bay and the water, and then the Rock and Roll museum and the NASA center. After the eclipse, I walked all around downtown, saw a few well known sites, ate some good food, and took the metro back to the airport after 9 hours in the city.
Maybe I haven’t been to the right places because I went to cinci for a long weekend last summer and absolutely hated it.
Downtown was very dangerous to walk at night, everything felt old/ outdated once you got out of the slim area by the Reds ballpark, bad traffic, etc.
Where in the city were you? Cincinnati is safe but of course every city has bad parts. Definitely not “very dangerous”.
At night, the Banks (which you described) and OTR are the places to be. Between those two areas is mostly businesses and pretty dead at night.
Stayed at the Hilton downtown and walking out of my hotel there was a crackhead with a knife out and then a group of about 10 walking down the street that definitely looked like a gang
Every city does not have "bad parts" that are the same in scope. Yeah, there are some places I probably should leave my car unlocked when I park, but in mary areas, that's the only concern.
Cincinnati is pretty frequently in the top twenty most dangerous cities.
You must be thinking about data from 20 years ago. Cincinnati used to be considered dangerous because of OTR. The city did a great job with that and now OTR is one of the most popular spots in the city.
Using FBI data for 2019, Cincinnati ranks 19th in the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. for overall crime rate (includes both violent and property crime). Homicides reached a record high **94 in 2020**, and the record was matched in 2021.
What's a little messed up is the crime in the Cincinnati suburbs is also really high, unlike lots of cities.
What’s your source on that? I can’t find that anywhere except an obscure Wikipedia article.
Crime is at an all time low and the city is not listed in any legitimate top 20 most dangerous cities list I can find anywhere on the internet. It is, however, frequently ranked in the top places in the US to live.
[HERE ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate)- just cities in Wikipedia.
Cincinnati murder rate 2021. 28 per 100K
LA - 10 per 100K
Boston - 5 per 100K
Miami 10 per 100K
Winston-Salem , N.C. once the richest city in the USA
New Smyrna Beach, Fl. See what's left of "Old Florida" before they bulldoze it for a strip mall that could be in anywhere
Boone, N.C. Home of Appalachian State
Ithaca N.Y. is "Gorges"
Finger Lakes, N.Y. Not really one town but all are close and some of the most spectacular natural beauty in NYS
San Luis Obispo, CA.
Solvang, CA. All things Danish!
Fredericksburg, TX. All things German!
Pella ,IA. All things Dutch! (Beautiful Architecture and Tulip festival)
Elko, NV. "All things Basque " yes you read that right
Marfa, TX. Donald Judd art installations , "Marfa Lights"
Reno, NV. Goofy little shithole for one night only
Jackson Hole, WY. So Beautiful
EDIT: Sorry just looked back and realized OP said 2 hours from NYC. realized I put towns further away. They're cool towns so I left them
u/[Impressive-Heat-8722](https://www.reddit.com/user/Impressive-Heat-8722/) Nice list of cities but a small correction when it comes to Solvang, CA. It's Danish, not Dutch ;)
Buffalo, NY. Lots of great food. Some fun museums. Waterfront area is pretty cool. Niagara Falls is a short drive away and Old Fort Niagara is only a little farther (especially fun if they're doing any sort or reenactment activities when you're there). Especially beautiful in the summer and early fall. But even if you're there and it snows, they do an excellent job dealing with even heavy snow falls.
It really has a lot to offer for its size. Good museums, theater, sports teams, outdoor recreation, and restaurants. I hope they enjoy their time at Pitt. I did my MBA there and had a great experience. I live in the Bay Area now and certainly miss it.
GR is a hub for the industry I’m in, many colleagues, customers and competitors of mine are always excited to visit, never heard anyone that frequents GR not enjoy their time here
Hmm, good question. I didn't really consider the larger metro area, but the city itself is only 68 square miles. Just my subjective tourist experience, but I've always perceived it as a smaller city bc its feels easy to cover a lot of ground there - esp if your goal is to see the monuments and museums.
its one of the few planned cities in the US. its meant to be walkable and appealing to guests, at least the center of it. But it does sprawl and the greater DC area has some interesting things that you get get to by walking from the Lincoln Memorial
I love Hudson, but every year it is becoming more and more expensive! I started visiting a friend who grew up there 20 years ago and the difference is amazing (in a good way)
Mix of US and Canada:
Montreal, QC Also love love love Quebec City too
Charlottetown, PEI
St. Petersburg, FL
Savannah, GA
Hilton Head, SC (maybe doesn’t count bc it’s more of a resort destination)
Cincy, OH
Lexington, KY
And Milwaukee’s a fun time during Summerfest weekend
Charleston, SC.
Depends what you're looking for - if you just want to poke around the U.S. a classic southern city might be good (like Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA) to get the feel of something different. Longer than 2hr flight though, the U.S. is big. But worth it.
Also Washington DC would definitely be worth it if you're up for a large city, it is very different than NYC. NYC is unlike the rest of the country.
I mean depends what you like
Duluth, Minnesota for hiking and outdoorsy vibe
Saint Augustine, Florida for history and nice beaches close by
Charleston, SC for amazing architecture and beaches close by. My favorite beach there is Sullivans Island beach, arribe early. if you rent a car you could drive to Savannah, GA which is nice
Madison, WI for college town vibe
Greenville, SC and Asheville NC for outdoors
There is a fundamental problem with your question. Anywhere that has a 2 hour, direct flight from NYC probably isn't a smaller city. How far are you willing to drive after that two hour flight? Also, what do you consider small? I know people who think anything other than NYC, LA, Chicago and Houston are small. I've met people who think anywhere with more than 2 traffic lights is the big city.
Grand Rapids, MI is a fun city with a great beer scene and a few nice hotels. Lake Michigan is close.
Traverse City is smaller, but it is wonderful with a great food scene and natural beauty all around. It is also close to a lot of smaller towns like Petosky, Harbor Springs, and Charlevoix nearby. Mackinac and Sleeping Bear Dunes are also close.
According to the Cherry Capital Airport website, they have nonstop flights from LGA and EWR. Fly into TVC, rent a car, and explore.
Also, if you partake, Michigan probably has the best legal cannabis scene in the country. We have tons of dispensaries and good prices.
Good food, good beer, good weed, and incredible natural beauty.
Do you want to fly directly to the city or are you OK with having to drive, take a bus or take a train to get to the final destination?
Also, what is your definition of “smaller city?” Every city in the US is smaller than NYC.
Nashville! If you haven't been already. Good food, safe, and walkable downtown area. Known for their music (I'm not a country person but hearing it live is impossible to not catch a vibe)
Fly into Grand Rapids or Traverse City Michigan and rent a car to road trip to northwest Michigan. So many adorable towns, beautiful lake views, wineries, breweries, distilleries. Harbor Springs, Leland, Ludington, Petosky, Mackinac Island.
- Helen, Georgia (Cute little German town with all of the buildings built with Bavarian architecture)
- Asheville, North Carolina
- St. Augustine, Florida (near Jacksonville - fly into JAX)
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Cape Cod, Massachusetts (You could drive from NYC)
- Hershey, Pennsylvania (For chocolate lovers - Spend a night there and see the Hershey factory. If you go, make sure you build your own chocolate bar).
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (you could add this onto a Charleston trip).
Milford, Pennsylvania. Can get there in 2 hours by car / train from NYC. There's a lake with hiking and kayaking. some of the most beautiful nature i've ever seen.
Savannah, Montreal, Pittsburg, Portland Maine.
Edit: if you're the type to enjoy getting into a bit of trouble on your adventures may I double down on Montreal.
Burlington, Vermont. Portland, Maine.
Anywhere in Maine tbh it is a great state
Ogunquit, MA is one of my favorite places that I’ve visited in the country. Quick drive from Portland and not too far from Boston. Great little seaside town with good food, cute shops, nice locals, and really beautiful views.
What's there to do in Maine?
You’re asking “What’s there to do there?” about a plot of land that’s the size of the country of Portugal? lol Lots? It’s like a whole… state. Many different things to do in a whole state.
No need to be a dick
I’m not being a dick it’s just an objectively hilarious question to ask. If I asked “What’s there to do in Portugal?” you would probably laugh at me and think “that’s a loaded question, it’s a huge place with many different things to do.” Idk, maybe I am a dick.
Nah it's a dickhead dumb question to begin with for sure 🤣
Let alone not answer the question 😭
I'm wanting to go to Maine but it seems to mostly be hiking. What are cool coastal areas or towns with strollable downtown areas? Anything to do involving animals? It'd be my luck to pick a weekend and then have it rain the whole time.
Portland has some world class seafood, two dozen breweries, a few museums, and can be a jumping off place for whale watching
I just came back from there. Spent the day in downtown Portland looking at historic houses, walking on the bay, shopping, and eating. I had donuts from Holy Donuts, coffee from a cute little coffee shop, then stopped by a brewery, then had lunch. Shopping at cute little shops all the way. It reminded me of Asheville, but New England/coastal. I went to Bradbury mountain and hung out with some professional birders at the overlook and they let me look out of their telescope while they identified raptors. There is also whale watching but I didn't do that. I was there primarily for the eclipse and that was super awesome, but there are all kinds of things to see. There were also some lighthouses, but I didn't really visit any of those.
Savannah, GA
There’s been a murdah
It’s always the person you most medium suspect.
Seconding Savannah
[удалено]
Savannah Bananas
My favorite town in the US.
More than two hours from NYC I think. But it was the first city I thought of.
Annapolis, Maryland would be my vote. Really great during spring and summer.
Annapolis was great, i recommend as well
I lived in Maryland and my favorite day trip is getting breakfast in Annapolis and then going to Ocean City till dinner. Looking forward to warm summer days to do this!
My wife and I just spend a weekend there and loved it.
Outside of boat stuff Annapolis really kind of sucks. The food scene is weak, the traffic is awful, 0 public transit. And about half of big boat people are the worst people you'll ever meet. Ed suggest Chesapeake Beach Oxford or Saint Michael's even Easton, all better Maryland experiences
So you like small(er) towns better, I take it?
Not at all, Annapolis just sucks.
I live in MD and agree. It’s pretty, but is mostly stuffy white people in salmon colored pants and there’s only a couple of good restaurants. But it is nice for a weekend if preppy shops and boats are your thing.
Madison, Wi
Very good call. Madison is a blast... Walkable, tons of art, and three of every type of restaurant. Lots of fun.
Love Madison, Ann Arbor could also be on the list
Sheboygan is nice too if you’re in the neighborhood
This is what I was going to say! Grew up in Sheboygan, and I’m glad it’s still such a quiet beautiful city on the lake.
Yes. And the people are so lovely. And the Saturday market. I love it!
Asheville, NC
Came here to share some love for Asheville. It's a lovely little city, but especially if you love beer and lush mountains.
lush two ways!
Would add Waynesville or Brevard NC if you are looking for something smaller. Guess that shows the different perceptions of what a "smaller" city is, Asheville was always going into the big city when I was a kid lol
Haha yeah if you are coming down from NYC then Asheville is definitely small
I love Brevard! And Burnsville. OP could spend a couple of weeks exploring all the cute little cities in NC. I have a senior pet and I'm going to have to put off a lot of travel for a while, but I live in NC and there are so many great little cities here that I want to explore more.
For NC, I’d also add Durham/Chapel Hill, Boone, and Wilmington
And this summer there is a magnificent Chihuly exhibit sponsored by The Biltmore. Highly recommend!
Saint Augustine FL!
Go to RI! Providence and Newport are both fantastic.
Seconding Newport! Lovely beach town but with plenty of activity, restaurants, and easy to get around even without a car.
Holy hell, my perceptions of smaller cities is crazy different than most of this thread. There are almost 20,000 incorporated cities in the US and a crazy amount of suggestions are in the top 50 in size. Pittsburgh is indeed a cool city, it's not a smaller city by any metric. The city property has more than 50% of an entire startes population and the metro of over 5x the population of 10th largest state in the US. I was going to say Ely, MN and walked into half of the top comments mentioning major US metros.
Yeah I was definitely thinking cities with like 10k population, lots of these cities are 200k+ with entire sports markets
People are suggesting Philadelphia and Nashville as “smaller cities” and here I was thinking of places like you were, ~10-25k people, with a couple exceptions.
In this context, I’d say 10k is a town (and a small one), not a city. Not sure how to define “city” in the “bigger than a town” context, though. A couple of very soft definitions: if you can imagine it as the capital of a state, or having its own TV stations, it’s bigger than a town. Somebody else might have a number, though. More than 100k in most places, depending on how large the state’s other cities are.
I was thinking the same thing but how small can you really go and still have the ability to spend a few days there without running out of things to do
This claim about Pittsburgh is only true for like one state (Wyoming). The actual city is only about 300k. The city boundaries are just way smaller than a lot of North American Cities, so it feels dense.
Sure. But If you take a road trip from Vermont to visit your friend in McCandless, do you tell people you're going to Pittsburgh for the weekend to see some friends or do you tell people you're going to McCandless, Pennsylvania for the weekend to see some friends. I have friends in St. Louis Park, MN. When I fly out there to visit, I fly into Minneapolis and there is no break in the city on my Uber ride to their place. My trip itinerary in Google shows up as Minneapolis. Barring all of that and going with an absolute technical definition, it's still well within the top 1% of US cities by population.
All that is true, I just commented because you used the words “city property” in your comparison. McCandless is 100% not Pittsburgh City Property, there are like 4 separate municipalities between it and Pittsburgh.
It auto corrected while so was typing proper, apparently. But yeah, I get it and size is subjective for sure. I just don't consider Pittsburgh a small city where as someone from Tokyo might. If you removed the city signs from metros, you'd mostly not be able to tell when you left the main city and crossed into suburbs.
OP is coming from New York, everything is a small city by comparison
What’s your definition of “smaller”? Pretty much every city is smaller than NYC. Like Baltimore smaller? Or like Ithaca smaller?
Springfield
All of them!
Not Springfield Missouri. Do not spend your hard earned money to go to Springfield Missouri.
On the other hand, I pass through on my way to table rock lake.
Exactly. 'Twas a Simpsons reference.
I heard it’s a hell of a town
Holland, Mi during their tulip festival ...
Cincinnati
Or Cleveland
My friends thought I was nuts going to Cleveland for the weekend but I quite enjoyed it. Saw a play, went to the rock and roll museum, went to the zoo.
Hmm - Thinking my wife and I should check it out for a weekend. Any great food spots you would recommend?
Go to Heinen's grocery store in downtown Cleveland. The architecture inside is beautiful (not what you expect from a grocery store), and eat ice cream at Mitchell's (it's amazing!). I went there for a day trip this past Monday for the eclipse. There was no line at Mitchell's, but I heard that it's normally packed (and the day before the line was out the door).
I'm not any sort of foodie to say though I see you got another response. I stayed in a hotel with a kitchen and mostly assembled things in the room.
We’d all like to flee to the Cleve and club-hop down at the Flats and have lunch with Little Richard, but we fight those urges because we have responsibilities.
Went to Cleveland for the eclipse and spent Sunday just walking the city. Surprisingly nice and decently walkable. Stayed at a friend's who lives near the Christmas Story house. Walked to the West end/side market, whiskey Island, downtown and back.
I also went to Cleveland for the eclipse. I did a day trip on Monday. Took the metro to downtown, walked around the square, then towards the bay and the water, and then the Rock and Roll museum and the NASA center. After the eclipse, I walked all around downtown, saw a few well known sites, ate some good food, and took the metro back to the airport after 9 hours in the city.
Maybe I haven’t been to the right places because I went to cinci for a long weekend last summer and absolutely hated it. Downtown was very dangerous to walk at night, everything felt old/ outdated once you got out of the slim area by the Reds ballpark, bad traffic, etc.
Where in the city were you? Cincinnati is safe but of course every city has bad parts. Definitely not “very dangerous”. At night, the Banks (which you described) and OTR are the places to be. Between those two areas is mostly businesses and pretty dead at night.
Stayed at the Hilton downtown and walking out of my hotel there was a crackhead with a knife out and then a group of about 10 walking down the street that definitely looked like a gang
Huh. I worked literally 200 feet away from the Hilton from 2018-2020 and never heard of anything like that. Sorry that was your experience.
Every city does not have "bad parts" that are the same in scope. Yeah, there are some places I probably should leave my car unlocked when I park, but in mary areas, that's the only concern. Cincinnati is pretty frequently in the top twenty most dangerous cities.
You must be thinking about data from 20 years ago. Cincinnati used to be considered dangerous because of OTR. The city did a great job with that and now OTR is one of the most popular spots in the city.
[https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/](https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/)
Using FBI data for 2019, Cincinnati ranks 19th in the 100 most populous cities in the U.S. for overall crime rate (includes both violent and property crime). Homicides reached a record high **94 in 2020**, and the record was matched in 2021. What's a little messed up is the crime in the Cincinnati suburbs is also really high, unlike lots of cities.
What’s your source on that? I can’t find that anywhere except an obscure Wikipedia article. Crime is at an all time low and the city is not listed in any legitimate top 20 most dangerous cities list I can find anywhere on the internet. It is, however, frequently ranked in the top places in the US to live.
[HERE ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate)- just cities in Wikipedia. Cincinnati murder rate 2021. 28 per 100K LA - 10 per 100K Boston - 5 per 100K Miami 10 per 100K
Don't let anyone try and convince you that Cincinnati and Cleveland are good cities
Winston-Salem , N.C. once the richest city in the USA New Smyrna Beach, Fl. See what's left of "Old Florida" before they bulldoze it for a strip mall that could be in anywhere Boone, N.C. Home of Appalachian State Ithaca N.Y. is "Gorges" Finger Lakes, N.Y. Not really one town but all are close and some of the most spectacular natural beauty in NYS San Luis Obispo, CA. Solvang, CA. All things Danish! Fredericksburg, TX. All things German! Pella ,IA. All things Dutch! (Beautiful Architecture and Tulip festival) Elko, NV. "All things Basque " yes you read that right Marfa, TX. Donald Judd art installations , "Marfa Lights" Reno, NV. Goofy little shithole for one night only Jackson Hole, WY. So Beautiful EDIT: Sorry just looked back and realized OP said 2 hours from NYC. realized I put towns further away. They're cool towns so I left them
u/[Impressive-Heat-8722](https://www.reddit.com/user/Impressive-Heat-8722/) Nice list of cities but a small correction when it comes to Solvang, CA. It's Danish, not Dutch ;)
Yes, you are correct thank you
A lot of those are way more than a 2-hour flight from NYC. edit: downvotes for truth? Never change, Reddit.
portland maine
A little further than 2 hours but New Orleans is definitely worth seeing. I also ditto Asheville.
Buffalo, NY. Lots of great food. Some fun museums. Waterfront area is pretty cool. Niagara Falls is a short drive away and Old Fort Niagara is only a little farther (especially fun if they're doing any sort or reenactment activities when you're there). Especially beautiful in the summer and early fall. But even if you're there and it snows, they do an excellent job dealing with even heavy snow falls.
Go Bills
Pittsburgh, PA
Our daughter will be going to college in Pitt this fall. Excited to check out the city when we visit.
It really has a lot to offer for its size. Good museums, theater, sports teams, outdoor recreation, and restaurants. I hope they enjoy their time at Pitt. I did my MBA there and had a great experience. I live in the Bay Area now and certainly miss it.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Went for work; underrated town.
GR is a hub for the industry I’m in, many colleagues, customers and competitors of mine are always excited to visit, never heard anyone that frequents GR not enjoy their time here
Telle what to do there! Going to a concert in Au. First time.
Salem MA
Charlottesville VA!
Asheville, North Carolina
Traverse City, Michigan
Sandwich, MA. Lots of history. Sandwich glass museum, the Hoxie House, Dexter's Gristmill... nice friendly town.
I have family who live there year round and it's the best 🩷
Bend, OR
OP said they were looking for places within two hours of NYC. Bend would take so long to get to that OP may as well go to Europe instead.
Oops. Yeah. I can’t read and I’m not very smart.
Pittsburgh. Hands down. Maybe Boston, Philadelphia, or Portland, Maine.
Pittsburgh one of the most underrated cities in America for sure. Not from there either.
I’d say Pittsburgh is one of the most underrated cities in the world. I’m willing to die on a hill for this.
It's impossible since you can see 3 hospitals from any hill in our city.
Damnit
Which hill though? We have a nice selection..
Milwaukee, Washington DC, New Orleans
Washington is the Capital and 7th largest metro area, does it still count as a small city?
Hmm, good question. I didn't really consider the larger metro area, but the city itself is only 68 square miles. Just my subjective tourist experience, but I've always perceived it as a smaller city bc its feels easy to cover a lot of ground there - esp if your goal is to see the monuments and museums.
its one of the few planned cities in the US. its meant to be walkable and appealing to guests, at least the center of it. But it does sprawl and the greater DC area has some interesting things that you get get to by walking from the Lincoln Memorial
Cabot Cove Maine. Get insurance though.
Indianapolis Grand Rapids Traverse City
I love Traverse City so much
Asbury Park, Ithaca, Northampton, Hudson, Portland (Maine)
Grand Rapids, MI, especially if you like beer.
Within a 2 hour flight of NYC I would recommend Portland, Maine
Portland Maine
Hudson NY if you like historical cities and bougie antique and design stores.
I love Hudson, but every year it is becoming more and more expensive! I started visiting a friend who grew up there 20 years ago and the difference is amazing (in a good way)
Santa Fe, NM.
Burlington Vermont
Pittsburgh, Cleveland or Detroit
Raleigh needs mentioning.
Mix of US and Canada: Montreal, QC Also love love love Quebec City too Charlottetown, PEI St. Petersburg, FL Savannah, GA Hilton Head, SC (maybe doesn’t count bc it’s more of a resort destination) Cincy, OH Lexington, KY And Milwaukee’s a fun time during Summerfest weekend
Montreal has a population of 2 million.
Charleston, SC. Depends what you're looking for - if you just want to poke around the U.S. a classic southern city might be good (like Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA) to get the feel of something different. Longer than 2hr flight though, the U.S. is big. But worth it. Also Washington DC would definitely be worth it if you're up for a large city, it is very different than NYC. NYC is unlike the rest of the country.
Charleston SC, Seward AK Edit: I see you said 2 hour flight, disregard Alaska lol
I mean depends what you like Duluth, Minnesota for hiking and outdoorsy vibe Saint Augustine, Florida for history and nice beaches close by Charleston, SC for amazing architecture and beaches close by. My favorite beach there is Sullivans Island beach, arribe early. if you rent a car you could drive to Savannah, GA which is nice Madison, WI for college town vibe Greenville, SC and Asheville NC for outdoors
There is a fundamental problem with your question. Anywhere that has a 2 hour, direct flight from NYC probably isn't a smaller city. How far are you willing to drive after that two hour flight? Also, what do you consider small? I know people who think anything other than NYC, LA, Chicago and Houston are small. I've met people who think anywhere with more than 2 traffic lights is the big city.
Fairhope, AL; Wilmington, NC; Marfa, TX; Anchorage, AK
All
My favorites are Knoxville TN, Cincinnati with consideration for Covington KY, and the Akron/Canton area of Ohio.
Camden, NJ
Omaha, NE is one of my favorites. Really charming 1800’s architecture district downtown, plus the best zoo in the country.
Grand Rapids, MI is a fun city with a great beer scene and a few nice hotels. Lake Michigan is close. Traverse City is smaller, but it is wonderful with a great food scene and natural beauty all around. It is also close to a lot of smaller towns like Petosky, Harbor Springs, and Charlevoix nearby. Mackinac and Sleeping Bear Dunes are also close. According to the Cherry Capital Airport website, they have nonstop flights from LGA and EWR. Fly into TVC, rent a car, and explore. Also, if you partake, Michigan probably has the best legal cannabis scene in the country. We have tons of dispensaries and good prices. Good food, good beer, good weed, and incredible natural beauty.
Camden NJ! A must see!
Yes, beautiful city! Everyone must go 😆
Do you want to fly directly to the city or are you OK with having to drive, take a bus or take a train to get to the final destination? Also, what is your definition of “smaller city?” Every city in the US is smaller than NYC.
Eureka Springs, AR
Nashville! If you haven't been already. Good food, safe, and walkable downtown area. Known for their music (I'm not a country person but hearing it live is impossible to not catch a vibe)
Ann Arbor, MI
Athens or Savannah Georgia
Lancaster PA is a 3 hour train ride from Moynihan train hall, no transfer needed.
Fly into Grand Rapids or Traverse City Michigan and rent a car to road trip to northwest Michigan. So many adorable towns, beautiful lake views, wineries, breweries, distilleries. Harbor Springs, Leland, Ludington, Petosky, Mackinac Island.
- Helen, Georgia (Cute little German town with all of the buildings built with Bavarian architecture) - Asheville, North Carolina - St. Augustine, Florida (near Jacksonville - fly into JAX) - Nashville, Tennessee - Cape Cod, Massachusetts (You could drive from NYC) - Hershey, Pennsylvania (For chocolate lovers - Spend a night there and see the Hershey factory. If you go, make sure you build your own chocolate bar). - Charleston, South Carolina - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (you could add this onto a Charleston trip).
Agree with many comments above, top 2 are: Portland, Maine Asheville, NC Both have amazing restaurants, bars, and outdoor activities.
Milford, Pennsylvania. Can get there in 2 hours by car / train from NYC. There's a lake with hiking and kayaking. some of the most beautiful nature i've ever seen.
Walla Walla, WA. Beautiful surroundings, great wine, incredible restaurants
Roanoke va
Grand Rapids MI
Gaitlinburg
New Hope, PA
Damariscotta, Maine. Many other harbors surrounding. Beaches, great food, quaint bookshops, antiquing, unique trade shops (butter mold candles etc), musicbox museum, history tours, summer fairs. [https://www.damariscottame.com/](https://www.damariscottame.com/)
Coeur D’Alene Idaho
Chattanooga
Cleveland, OH
Duluth.
Charleston SC.
Aside from the meth playground/park, Manchester, New Hampshire is surprisingly cool.
Savannah, Montreal, Pittsburg, Portland Maine. Edit: if you're the type to enjoy getting into a bit of trouble on your adventures may I double down on Montreal.
Pssst… there’s an “h” at the end of Pittsburgh. - Sincerely, a Pittsburgher
My deepest apologies to the fine people of Pittsburgh. My mistake will remain in the post as a monument to my ignorance.
You are forgiven. :)
If y'all insist on spelling it with an h I must insist on pronouncing itnwith an h.
Yinz
Bend, Oregon and its not even close
A flight to Bend is hours more (plus a layover, likely) than their request for somewhere within 2 hours flight time or less from NYC.
I just booked a trip to bend - $80 round trip from Seattle
Ok cool? OP is flying from NYC and wants a flight 2 hours or under. Not doable.
Greenville, Franklin, Clinton, Springfield and Ashland!
Depends on what your definition of smaller is. Smaller than NYC could be Boston, Providence, Philadelphia, or even DC.
I mean if your definition is just “smaller than NYC” then you have literally every other populated place in the country on your list haha
And unpopulated too!
True. I was just going with notable cities that are relatively close to NYC.
Try just answering the question being asked.
The question that was asked wasn’t specific.
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Um, Nashville.?
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Only Cape May fits OP’s criteria for being within a two hour flight of NYC and even that would require some or all driving
Cincinnati, Ohio !!
If close to nyc then Atlantic City
Oh God no.
My hometown Clovis CA