This list is BS because it doesn’t have Orlando on it. In reality 1 out of 10 foreign visitors go to Orlando.
http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2010_States_and_Cities.pdf
It is the 4th most visited city in the United States.
Actually, it’s the most visited city in the US. New York is #1 among foreign visitors.
Bad poll! Bad!
I’m a little surprised at San Francisco being ranked so highly. I would think a foreign visitor would want to visit a city that was a little more representative of the country. SF is a great American city, but, like Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, or Honolulu, it is not exactly typically American. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I chose Chicago because it represents who we are as a country. A friend of mine, originally from Rockford but who has lived in SF for about eight years, recently visited Chicago with her girlfriend. At 2am on their third day in the city, it hit them that no one had catcalled them; they couldn’t go a day without it in the Bay Area. It took this for her to realize what a friendly, congenial place Chicago is. In the Field and the Art Institute, Chicago has museums that can stand up against any in the world. The architecture of the city is an exemplar for the great works of the past century, and the city’s ethnic enclaves demonstrate our heritage of immigrants and the diversity that makes us strong.
If you want to see America come to Chicago. Unless it’s winter 
Yeah because it’s the “real” America. Tourists always want the authentic, you don’t get much more authentic than Cleveland. After that I’d recommend NYC. But if you visit NYC first much of the rest of the US might be a bit of a letdown.
Yes, but who would recommend it first, besides employees of Disney Corp.?
:rolleyes: Whatever. You can never please everyone. Seeing as “other” isn’t beating out the other top, obvious choices, I think my poll is fine.
I suppose if by “authentic” you mean a real dying, ugly, dirty rust-belt city whose most well-known nickname is “The Mistake by the Lake,” then, sure. But I felt that listing Detroit was good enough to cover the sad and crumbling rust belt cities. I don’t think America as a whole is well-represented by these places, myself.
But it should be clear that no single big city in American can stand in for a representation of “authentic” or “real” for the whole country. That’s nonsense; the nation is far too diverse for that to be possible.
Regardless, feel free to select “other.”
To be fair, I did almost put “Orlando” on the list. Probably I should have. But there’s always “other.”
I wouldn’t have voted for it anyway. It just seems like rather an obvious omission.
Yeah, well, that’s what you get for using non-union labor.
Disney isn’t in Orlando. Most tourist who come to that part of Florida never go to Orlando proper, maybe the suburbs if at all, depending on how they get to Disneyworld and the other area tourist traps, er, theme parks.
Screw you all. We’re going to the islands!!! Honolulu, Baby!!
San Diego. Beautiful all the time–except for those pesky Santa Ana’s.
Or NYC, in the spring.
I thought that just refered to baseball stadium. (pre Jacobs Field)
Sure it is. It’s not within the city limits but it’s part of the Greater Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area.
I voted for Boston. it has history, unique blend of American culture, good museums and restaurants and is a jumping off point for lots of other stuff. it is also small enough that it shouldn’t overwhelm a tourist like larger cities.
Disney World is within Orange County and part of Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. You will find that many attractions don’t actually reside within the city limits of the cities they associated with. In any case, you are incorrect, since the Airport and Universal Studios are within the city limits. Take a look at Los Angeles and you will discover that Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm and DisneyLand aren’t in the city limits either.
When I first moved to St Louis, I was shocked to discover small St Louis was and the rather confusing difference between St Louis County and the City of St Louis County.
Hmmm. Wiki lists it as referring to both, which is how I’ve heard it used. Maybe it started with the old stadium …
No worries. She did find it beautiful once we landed. The whole area looked all brown from the air while we were coming in. This was in the month of May.
DC gets my vote.
Great, clean, safe public transportation, loads of free museums and monuments and memorials and things to see, TONS of history everywhere you look. Fun and educational at the same time. Beautiful architecture in many places. Don’t drive, though, as the traffic is gridlocked most of the time and confusing besides.
The Smithsonian (which for anyone who doesn’t know, which is probably 3 people in the world) is not just one museum but rather a whole network of museums, most of them huge and amazing. The Air and Space Museum is exceptionally awesome. The Natural History museum is not to be missed. The American History Museum has a neat collection of Americana memorabilia --things like Mr. Rogers’ sweater, Dorthy’s ruby slippers, Archie Bunker’s recliner… in addition to more serious history type stuff (unless I’m misremembering which museum that was all in–it’s been a few years). The Holocaust Memorial Museum is moving and can be hard to get through, but it’s worth it. Go somewhere happy afterward to reset your emotional scale. There are a number of big, important art galleries (more like art museums, really) such as the National Gallery of Art. There is also an extensive and impressive sculpture garden on the Mall, with works from Picasso among others. Most of what I’ve mentioned is right on the Mall or within a block or two of it, within easy walking distance of each other.
A quick Metro (subway) ride gets you to Chinatown which has excellent food. And if you like riding the Metro, the Rosslyn station has the 3rd longest continuous span escalator in the world–the trip from the bottom to the top is almost 2 minutes. Kind of neat just to say you’ve done it. And if you’re still riding around on the Metro and get hungry for something other than Chinatown there is a remarkably fully realized food court at Union Station, with all sorts of both American and ethnic food represented. (The Indian food is pretty decent; I haven’t tried much of the rest.) And going upstairs at Union Station is worth it to see the architecture.
You can also visit and take tours of places like the FBI building, the US Mint, the White House (at least I think–I did when I went as a child) and the Capitol building.
And for relaxation you’ve got the Mall itself. Big lawn, lots of trees, carousel…
What I like about DC is that everything is accessible easily. In NYC I think it’s a little easy to get a little lost, or at least unsure of yourself. In San Francisco I felt the same way… in DC it’s partially because all the cool places you would want to see are close together and well labeled with maps and so on. You’re not going from one end of town to the other to fit in the sights. In this way you don’t have to totally plan out your trip before you head into town. You can just sort of plan-as-you-go based on what you see that interests you. There are many sources of free maps (the Smithsonian gives them out, for example) to help you decide where to stop next.
One word of caution: Don’t try to do DC on a day when there is a big event planned, like a million man march or that rally that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held, or even something as innocuous as the 4th of July fireworks. The place turns into a madhouse and I’ve never seen such a sea of humanity ever. Pick a different, less crowded day.
As a Chicagoan I agree with this. Realistically, however, if a visitor sees only one city, I am forced to vote for New York. As great as Chicago is, NY simply has much, much more to see and a longer history. But for the typical America, it’s Chicago all the way.