Three Popular Us Tourist Spots

By Author: Roberto Raffa
Total Articles: 10
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America represents such an overwhelmingly vast patchwork of often wildly disparate possibilities for the prospective visitor that deciding where to start really can be an intimidating prospect. In the end it probably comes down to what you want from your visit because this epic nation really does have it all.

The multiplicity of subcultures crammed into this vast land means that even a single state can offer as much variety as some countries can muster in their entirety. Take California, a state which contains within its boundaries such remarkable diversity, both cultural and physical, that a thorough tour taking in everything from the arid deserts of the south to the brisk, verdant terrain bordering Washington State might not feel too dissimilar to a round the world trip.

We've compiled a summary of three of our favourite cities in the hope of providing some sort of entree into this mind bogglingly varied nation:

Las Vegas
On visiting Vegas for the first time it quickly dawns on you that it really is exactly how you imagined it would be - a huge plastic tribute to American consumerism and shallow ...
... cultural simulation. Money is in gaudy evidence everywhere, from the quarters silver haired gambling addicts pump blankly into the millions of slot machines to the brazenly unsubtle displays of wealth favoured by the hordes of Prada clad nouveau rich to the stupefying excess of the casinos themselves.

Take The Venetian, a $1.5 billion casino/resort that attempts to recreate the streets of Venice, complete with a canal that winds through the casino and shopping mall and is (inevitably) traversed by singing gondoliers. There is surprisingly convincing mock Venetian architecture, a Titian-esque sky painted on the vast ceiling for that Truman Show fake environment vibe and a liberal sprinkling of Renaissance style frescos.

Whatever your take on the Vegas experience it's hard not to be awed by the overwhelming spectacle of it all and, for a few days at least (anymore and you may find your grasp on reality is beginning to slip), there really are few more fun and exciting cities to visit.

Miami
Think of Miami and one thing inevitably springs to mind - partying. And yes, however reductive a summary of this city's many redeeming qualities it may be, there can be no denying that Miami has long been, and continues to be, party central.

Nestled at the south east tip of Florida, Miami is the sun dazed repository for all of America's most gaudily decadent and downright hedonistic inclinations. There really is nowhere better suited to letting your hair down and revelling amidst a hazily glamorous mirage of cool Art Deco architecture, unabashedly brazen displays of wealth and the feisty rhythms of Latino culture.

Miami is, unapologetically, a good time city and whilst at times the stark juxtaposition of beautiful people spending a lot of money with the genuine poverty that often accompanies recent immigration might be hard to take, that's Miami for you - a sultry, vibrant melting pot surrounded by swampland and ocean that might be a bit, well, crazy but remains a vital and utterly unique expression of the American dream.

Seattle
Seattle seemed suddenly to appear on everyone's cultural radar at some point in the nineties; there was grunge of course, it's iconic figurehead Kurt Cobain in particular, there was Starbucks and its (soon to invade every high street in the developed world) version of coffee culture, there was Bill Gates and the commodification of vaguely hippyish values. All this somehow became part of the Seattle brand, a brand it must be said that has endured and proliferated pretty well over the last 15 years or so. Grunge excepted of course.

However influential Seattle has been it‘s never really joined the frontline of American tourist destinations, perhaps because this ‘brand' has been so successful that aspects of it have sprouted up in everyone's hometown. Maybe it's time to discover what Seattle's really all about.

The first thing to realise about Seattle is that much of its appeal lies in the natural beauty of its setting; the city is surrounded by rugged, mountainous splendour and broad expanses of water and this proximity to the great outdoors has lent Seattle and it's Gore Tex favouring citizens something of an outdoorsy vibe. Indeed, if you like the idea of holiday that combines time spent exploring a thriving modern city with a chance to get out and discover some of North West America's exhilarating natural scenery then there really is nowhere better to base yourself.

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