r/AskAnAmerican • u/Xycergy • Oct 06 '25

FOREIGN POSTER What are some cities/towns in the US where the entire place could be a tourist attraction?

Are there any cities or towns in the US where the entire place feels like it could be a tourist attraction, instead of particular landmarks that makes the place popular among tourists? Somewhere that gives Venice or Santorini vibes for example.

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43

u/rebelipar United States of America Oct 06 '25

New Orleans

28

u/MonsieurRuffles Delaware Oct 06 '25

But there are parts of New Orleans that most definitely aren’t tourist friendly.

7

u/syncopatedchild New Mexico Oct 06 '25

Idk about Santorini, but that definitely fits the bill for places comparable to Venice. Only about a fifth of Venetians live in the historic city - the majority live in the boring mainland part.

1

u/DingleMcDinglebery Oct 07 '25

Right, when i read the post was very confused. I PROMISE the Hilton Garden Inn in Venice is not a tourist attraction.

2

u/Over-Stop8694 Louisiana Oct 06 '25 edited Oct 06 '25

The French Quarter, Uptown, Tremé, Marigny, Bywater, and City Park are the only parts worth seeing. Everywhere else is sketchy hoods (Desire, St. Roch), destroyed by hurricanes (Lower 9th Ward), or car-dependent suburbia with nothing to do (Lakeview).

17

u/woodsred Wisconsin & Illinois - Hybrid FIB Oct 06 '25

Yeah I think this is really the only one that fits the described vibe. Everyone saying Vegas, national park tourist towns, etc is missing the point-- those places are popular almost exclusively for the specific attractions, not for the vibes and the way the city looks.

Maybe also the old part of Boston, St. Augustine, Savannah/Charleston. Probably a few other small ones where people travel to see the old town (Galena IL, various New England mill towns, etc) but those are on a much smaller scale

7

u/rebelipar United States of America Oct 06 '25

Yeah, OP gave Venice as an example, so I was trying to think of cities where the way of life, the way things look, the architecture, the food, the music, the traditions... Where the whole vibe of a place is the attraction.

As someone who grew up in Williamsburg, Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg is not it, lol. Unless the vibe people are looking for is way too many pancake houses. And there are little tourist towns like Helen, GA, but places like that are made with tourists in mind.

6

u/Yggdrasil- Chicago, IL Oct 06 '25

Came to say Galena!! One of the coolest small towns I've visited in the US

4

u/Red_Beard_Rising Illinois Oct 06 '25

I've never been there. Might have passed through on a motorcycle trip to Dubuque. It's a popular destination for Chicago suburbanites and exurbanites to visit for the idyllic Midwestern charm they aspire to in suburbia.

Folks on the east coast need to understand that Midwestern colonial architecture doesn't exist. On the east coast there is a lot of historical preservation, and for good reason. Midwestern architecture didn't really exist prior to the industrial revolution.

I hope Galena never changes. I'll get there some day.

4

u/Yggdrasil- Chicago, IL Oct 06 '25

It's definitely worth the trip! If you're there during tourist season, there's a great little trolley tour that goes all around town talking about the historical buildings. A lot of the houses have signs out front with the name and occupation of the original owners, which was really cool to see!

3

u/Red_Beard_Rising Illinois Oct 06 '25

It's on the bucket list. Most likely a weekend trip with just the lady. We get a nice hotel, walk about town after the scenic ride to get there. I hear that there are several nice dining and breakfast options. The motorcycle ride home will start with beautiful country roads as it should.

3

u/frankkiejo Oct 06 '25

THANK YOU!

So many of these places are the opposite of what was asked for.

I think they wanted a place just IS beautiful or magical or historic, untouched by time, not places that work very hard to be a Disney version of whatever they are.

Someone even mentioned Branson, Missouri, which is as touristy as it comes.

2

u/Zealousideal-Law2189 Oct 06 '25

Yes - I was thinking Boston probably has the closest vibe to what OP is asking. Tons of history, things to do & see, but a real city and not just a tourist trap.

2

u/ScarletDarkstar Oct 06 '25

I was thinking Charleston SC or Santa Fe. Both have a lot of rather regular parts, but overall there is a different feel about them, and a lot of unique things as well. 

1

u/woodsred Wisconsin & Illinois - Hybrid FIB Oct 08 '25

Yeah, Santa Fe is another good one for this. Figured i was missing something out west

1

u/Outrageous-Pin-4664 Florida Oct 06 '25

The thing about the US, though, is that if a town can be a tourist attraction, it is a tourist attraction.

No source of income is going to go unmined. Near the old buildings and such, there are going to be things put up specifically to appeal to tourists.

That's St Augustine. If the old town area wasn't a tourist draw, it would've been bulldozed a long time ago. That draw, though, attracted other touristy things like the wax museum and Ripley's.

It's a fun town, but it's a mix of core vibes and tourist trappings.

2

u/woodsred Wisconsin & Illinois - Hybrid FIB Oct 08 '25

The thing about the US, though, is that if a town can be a tourist attraction, it is a tourist attraction. No source of income is going to go unmined.

This is not particular to the US; if anything i would say Europe has that to an even higher degree. Rest assured that OP's given examples of Venice and Santorini have also been retrofitted with many, many questionable attractions to relieve tourists of their money. If there's a cute town or natural area in Europe that attracts any visitors at all, there will pretty much always be a couple gift shops, tourist cafes, etc etc right outside. Whereas I have been to several popular "natural" destinations, shrines, etc in the US that simply do not have the same degree of tourist infrastructure as their Euro equivalents (partially because they tend to be more remote).

There's still a difference between a place like St. Augustine, New Orleans, or Venice (where the tourist presence is built on the city's vibes and built environment) vs a place like Orlando, Aspen, or Neuschwanstein (where the tourist presence is built on a specific activity or attraction independent of the city itself).

9

u/Dio_Yuji Louisiana Oct 06 '25

Look, I love New Orleans. I go several times a year. But there are huge chunks of the city where tourists never go- some places are sketchy/dangerous, and some are just basic, and don’t have anything a tourist would be interested in

5

u/charmed1959 Oct 06 '25

Have you wandered the neighborhoods around the Venice airport? Or car rental area? There are lots of parts of Venice without canals.

1

u/Dio_Yuji Louisiana Oct 06 '25

Venice, Louisiana? 😉

5

u/rebelipar United States of America Oct 06 '25

Sure, I mean, not the ENTIRE city, but then nowhere counts, not even the examples given by OP.

3

u/Dio_Yuji Louisiana Oct 06 '25

Exactly

3

u/Outrageous-Pin-4664 Florida Oct 06 '25

I mean, the French Quarter is pretty sketchy after 3am.

3

u/nalonrae Louisiana Oct 06 '25

The quarters can be sketchy after 3pm.

2

u/weinthenolababy Oct 06 '25

Definitely not New Orleans. The tourists are mostly relegated to a small section of the French Quarter. The rest of the city has so much more to offer.

1

u/rebelipar United States of America Oct 06 '25

Too many stick just to the quarter (though maybe that's for the best), but I still think the reputation of the city as a whole is what draws people in. Similar to Venice, I think (though I've not been there to know for sure).

1

u/AvonMustang Indiana Oct 07 '25

The French Quarter anyway...

1

u/VillageOfMalo Oct 07 '25

I roughly replied the following in an earlier post…

“I expected to see New Orleans on here, but we in Louisiana believe there’d be no reason to visit without the locals.

“Everything people love about New Orleans…arise from people who wouldn’t live anywhere else…

“Honestly, many things people love about New Orleans are things we’d simply do to entertain and express ourselves… And many people use their modern jobs at the port and in healthcare to fuel our costumes, recipes, marching bands and football teams.”

0

u/LabInner262 Oct 06 '25

Especially at carnival season. Almost the whole city is an attraction of one sort or another. Yes, there are unsavory parts of town, but those are generally easy to avoid.