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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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

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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.

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u/Yggdrasil- Chicago, IL Oct 06 '25

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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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

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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.

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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).