America's Cultural Tourism Capitals

In Depth: America's Cultural Tourism Capitals

Paris, London and Rome aren't the only spots for tourism with a touch of culture. Even though we're a couple millennia behind Europe on history, America's major cities still manage to offer enough sophistication, style and arts to go around.

And while there's no shortage of such sights or activities in places like New York or Chicago, they're also plentiful in places one wouldn't normally think to look.

Consider Dallas. While it might be better known for big business, 10-gallon hats and football, it's also the center of the North Texas arts scene; the city's Cedars District serves as a home to many emerging artists.

In Depth: America's Cultural Tourism Capitals

What's more, visitors can enjoy traditional cultural activities at venues like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and the Nasher Sculpture Center. Dallas welcomed 18 million overnight visitors in 2008, and its 205 cultural institutions helped to keep them occupied.

Behind the Numbers
To determine America's top cities for cultural tourism, we measured the number of 2008 overnight visitors to each of the 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, factoring in the number of cultural institutions--including museums, sports teams, and live theater and concert venues--according to New York-based AOL City Guide, an online database of local businesses, restaurants, cultural institutions and bars. Visitor numbers for 2008 were reported by each metro area's convention and visitors bureau. A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographic entity defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.

New York's ranking as America's foremost metro for cultural tourism is no surprise, considering its bevy of arts institutes, such as the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery downtown, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Midtown and world renowned galleries like Phillips de Pury & Co. in Chelsea.

"No other city in the U.S. is as prominent in dance, film, music, theater and visual arts," says John Clifford, president of International Travel Management, a San Diego, Calif.-based luxury travel consultancy.

Los Angeles' second-place finish, however, is a bit more surprising (cultural capitals Chicago, Boston and Atlantarounded out the top five).

The City of Angels, which also ranked high on our list of theWorld's Most Stylish Cities, not only boasts a rich architectural history (with homes and buildings created by mid-century modernist master Joseph Eichler and contemporary architect Richard Meier), it's also home to 524 cultural institutions. Galleries, theater and music venues are abundant, not to mention museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Arguably the most famous of Los Angeles' culture spots is the J. Paul Getty museum, which includes the Meier-designed Getty Center in Brentwood, home to pre-20th century European paintings and drawings as well as 19th and 20th century American and European photographs. There's also the Getty Villa, an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria in the Pacific Palisades.

Midwest is Best
Another cultural center worth visiting is Minneapolis, perhaps better known for its chilly weather than its arts scene. Yet this snowy metro's excellent public radio station hosts famous shows like A Prairie Home Companion. Other cultural institutions include the Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center and Mill City Museum.

San Francisco, surprisingly, merely edged into the top 10 despite being, as Clifford puts it, the New York of the West.

"In its own quirky and often rebellious way, it has influenced other cities," he says of the area's strong ties to the counterculture. Museums like the de Young--which has exhibited everything from a retrospective of designer Yves Saint Laurent's work to a collection featuring 130 works from the tomb of Tutankhamun--and music venues like the Fillmore, which hosts band like the Doobie Brothers and Alice in Chains, keep the area buzzing.

The differences between the cultural offerings in places like San Francisco and Minneapolis, in fact, underscore the point that no matter where one goes in the U.S., there are distinctive arts communities and cultural attractions to be appreciated.

America’s Most Cultural Capitals

You don’t have to go to London, Rome or Paris to experience some of the most exceptional culturally exotic and capitvating capitals– they can be found right here in the USA.

New York, a Culturally Diverse Capital

Book hotels in New York City and get ready to explore a plethora of cultural attractions that this city (capital) has to offer.

Facade of Metropolitan Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art: This museum hosts works of art from classical antiquities and Ancient Egyptian artifacts, to paintings and sculptures from nearly all of the European masters and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The Met also maintains extensive collections of African, Asian, Oceanic, Byzantine and Islamic art.

New Museum of Contemporary Art: This is the only museum in New York City exclusively devoted to presenting contemporary art from around the world. Over the past five years, the New Museum has exhibited artists from various countries.

Chicago, a Capital and Cultural Feast

Find great Chicago hotel deals within your budget and visit this fabulous, deliciouscapital.

Chicago's first railroad locomotive at Chicago History Museum

Chicago History Museum: The museum showcases millions of authentic pieces of Chicago and U.S. history. Offering great sights highlighting America’s past and future; the museum is an ideal place to explore the city’s past, present and future.

Art Institute of Chicago: The Art Institute has one of the world’s most notable collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in its permanent collection. The museum also hosts significant “Old Master” works, American art, European and American decorative arts, Asian art and modern and contemporary art.

Chicago is also famous for its deep dish pizza, so be sure to grab a slice before you head back home.

Boston, a Scintillating Capital

Exhibit at Museum of Fine Art

Boston is filled with historical sites, monuments and buildings, making it an ideal destination for tourists looking for an unforgettable cultural experience.

Museum of Fine Arts: Attracts over one million visitors a year, the museum contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in America. Visitors can experience art from ancient Egypt to contemporary art, special exhibitions and innovative educational programs.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: The museum has a collection of over 2,500 works of Asian and American art, including paintings, sculptures, tapestries and decorative arts. The villa turned museum also features an eclectic collection of European objects and beautiful floral displays.

Washington D.C., a Stupendous Cultural Capital

Washington D.C. owes its popularity to its historic and cultural attractions. After booking Washington DC hotel deals, head to DC and make your first stop a national landmark, like the Lincoln Memorial or the Vietnam War Memorial, in addition to numerous landmarks and museums.

West Gallery at National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: National Gallery houses one of the finest collections of Western paintings and sculptures in the world. The permanent collection of paintings spans from the middle ages to present day.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: The museum is host to extensive collections of American art. Many of the pieces reveal key aspects of America’s rich artistic and cultural history, from the colonial period to prsent day. More than 7,000 artists are represented in the Smithsonian’s collections.

If you live in the US, you don’t have to go abroad to experience diverse culture and dive into history. Check out areas surrounding your neighborhood, culturally speaking, you might find much more than you realized.

Top Romantic Destinations in China

This post will introduce the top 2 romantic destinations in China: Hangzhou and Lijiang.

Hangzhou is the capital city of Zhejiang Province. The city is known for the most romantic tourist destinations in entire China. As the matter of fact, it has been the China’s number one destinations for honeymoons in the past decades. The city has a concentration of more than 40 scenic spots, which would take up to weeks to visit. Among all of the sight seeing spots, the 6-square-kilometer West Lake is the pride of the city and a world famous tourist destination. Unlike the man-made lakes in the other cities, West Lake is natural and its sights are more delightful, no matter what the season. Scholars and poets have left a legacy of rhapsodic poetry and prose after visiting the lake, and some settled, or stayed on to live the life of a hermit.

One common aspect about all Chinese tourist destinations is the rich cultural background behind every tourist destination. This is no different with Hangzhou. Along with the beautiful scenery and places of interest, West Lake has many romantic tales. Classical stories include that of the love between a young man named Xu Xian and the “white snake,” an immortal whose earthly form was that of a beautiful woman, but who also took on the shape of a white snake if she drank wine. Their love was not tolerated by society and the white snake was eventually imprisoned under Leifeng Tower and Xu Xian’s family fragmented.

The romantic nature of Hangzhou inhabitants has nurtured the quality of local artists. Hangzhou has produced numerous scholars and men of letters and the city is permeated with an artistic atmosphere.

The other well known romantic destination in China is the world famous tourist town in Yunnan province – Lijiang. It has a demure charm that is revealed in myriad forms: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the grey-tiled town of cobbled streets and thousand year-old bridges, the charm of the Naxi people and their customs and much more. Such qualities prompted UNESCO to include it on the World Heritage List and also inspired the best-selling novel, “Lost Horizons.”

Lijiang is the perfect tourism place for couples to enjoy their romance along with thousands years of local culture and the exotic ethnic group customs. The highlight of any visit to Lijiang is spending time in the old quarter, Dayan Town. This is no exception for couples. This 800-year-old World Heritage site features ancient timber and earth houses with tiled roofs set on delightful canals. No cars are allowed in the narrow, winding streets, which are paved with large stones. The idea is to get lost in Dayan’s quaint streets if you really want to discover the place. The old town attracts local artists and artisans and there is plenty of high quality jewelry, clothing, pottery, paintings and carving on sale. It’s quite pleasant sitting at an outdoor restaurant beside the canal eating a Naxi delicacy such as goat’s cheese sprinkled with sugar.

Young couples should visit Yufeng Buddhist monastery, famous for a 500-year-old camellia said to produce 10,000 blossoms every year. The camellia is actually two plants grafted together that supposedly represent a pair of lovers who were forbidden to marry and committed suicide rather than live apart. Today, Chinese couples believe that being photographed in front of the camellia will ensure that they will be together in the next life.

Hiking outside the city is one of the great highlights of any visit to this region. Some treks last only one hour and some take up to six hours or more but Lijiang’s trekking routes feature some of the most striking landscapes found in the world including the trek near Tiger Leaping Gorge and along the banks of the Jinsha River.
At night the old town takes on a different character. A popular activity for couples is to light a candlelit float and let it gently head downriver. Candles floating past on paper lotus flowers make dining alfresco beside the canals an enchanting experience.

The enchantment continues with a concert by the Naxi orchestra which plays classical Taoist music on traditional instruments. The average age of the musicians is 80.

As you can see, both of the destinations are known for their natural beauties and romantic cultures. Don’t wait forever to experience them yourself!