Yahoo Finance Budget Travel: 8 Best Cities To Visit Where You Don’t Need To Rent a Car
When planning a vacation, it’s important to stay within your budget, but that can be challenging when you’re flying, and your destination is a city. Renting a car can take a significant bite out of your travel budget, but in some cities it’s not necessary. Public transportation will often suffice, and many cities have bus or walking tours that will show you everything you came to see.
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Pro tip: Many cities have a hop-on, hop-off bus that will loop around the major attractions. Your ticket is good all day, so board in the morning and ride the full loop. This will get you acclimated, and you’ll be able to determine at which stops you want to get off and explore. Then hop off the bus wherever you please and get back on when you’re ready to go to the next interesting place.
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1. New York, New York
‘Budget travel’ and ‘New York City’ are not often mentioned in the same sentence, but it can be done. You can stay outside the city, in New Jersey or southern Connecticut, and take the train to Manhattan. Once there, between taxis and the labyrinthian subway system, you certainly don’t need a car — everything is accessible on foot. If you want to see more sights than you can walk to, there are many bus tours that will show you everything you’ve come to see. Do a hop-on, hop-off tour of either Upper or Lower Manhattan, or choose a specialty tour like a filming locations tour that takes you past the places you’ve seen on the small or large screen, or have afternoon tea in a double decker bus and sightsee while you nosh.
2. Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is a very walkable city, and considering how difficult parking is, that’s a good thing. One of Boston’s most popular tourist attractions is the Freedom Trail, a two-and-a-half mile route that takes walkers from the Boston Common, past the Old North Church, to the Bunker Hill Monument, with many other historical stops — a total of 16 — along the way. One of those stops is Faneuil Hall, which has been converted into a dining and shopping mecca. You can take a walking tour with a guide who will describe each site, or you can walk it yourself at your own pace. Boston is also home to the famous Duck Boats, amphibious vehicles that take you around the city and even into the Charles River.
3. Savannah, Georgia
Savannah has a compact historic district that’s just over two miles in size, with lots of interesting things to see on foot. You can visit the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, who founded the Girl Scouts of America, or Forsyth Park, with its majestic fountain and the gorgeous Mansion on Forsyth Park hotel, which includes a historical hat collection. When hunger strikes, visit The Olde Pink House or Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room to sample some homestyle Southern cooking.
4. Nashville, Tennessee
If you’re visiting Nashville to hear live music and enjoy some adult beverages, you may never need to leave Broadway Street, the main thoroughfare in downtown Nashville. But there’s a lot more to see in Music City, and you don’t need a car to do it. There are several tourist trolleys that will take you around and show you attractions like the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Musician’s Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium and more. To get to the Grand Ole Opry, however, you’ll need to take a rideshare or taxi.
5. San Diego, California
San Diego offers beautiful beaches, parks, a world-famous zoo and an amazing dining scene. Fortunately, you can experience it all without renting a car. Public transportation is good, and the San Diego trolley light rail system will take you just about anywhere. You can plan your route using the trip planner, which will tell you whether you need a bus or trolley and which line to choose to get you where you want to go. You can also rent an electric scooter or bike, take the hop-on, hop-off Old Town Trolley Tour or ride the waterfront shuttle past the USS Midway Museum and the San Diego Maritime Museum.
6. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis has a plethora of transportation options for the car-free tourist. The Minneapolis METRO is the light rail system, which connects many of the major tourist attractions in the twin cities, including the Mall of America and Target Field, which are accessible by the Blue Line, and the downtown areas of both Minneapolis and St. Paul, which you can get to from the Green Line. There are also Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines to get you from place to place. Minneapolis weather being what it is, the city also has the Skyway, a system of second-story bridges that spans over nine miles and connects restaurants, bars, theaters, professional sports venues and more, so you can walk from one place to the next without having to go outdoors.
7. New Orleans, Louisiana
Getting around in New Orleans without a car is easy. Pedicabs, rideshares and taxis abound, and you can rent a bike or scooter. For transportation that doubles as entertainment, take the St. Charles Avenue streetcar which will take you from downtown to uptown and back and runs 24 hours a day. It’s also a National Historic Landmark. A JazzyPass will get you unlimited bus and streetcar rides for $3 a day.
8. Seattle, Washington
You definitely won’t need a car in Seattle, as the city has a light rail system that will take you from the airport to downtown for about $4. Seattle has a compact downtown area, with most attractions located within about a mile of downtown. You can visit Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Art Museum and more. From Westlake Center, you can take a ride on the iconic monorail to get to the Space Needle, the Pacific Science Center and Chihuly Garden and Glass, among other notable locations. Or, take the light rail to Chinatown or T-Mobile Park.
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When planning your next vacation, don’t assume you need to rent a car to see the sights. Exploring a new city on foot or by using local transportation will not only save you money, but you get a view of the city you just can’t get while you’re driving (and looking for a parking spot).
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Budget Travel: 8 Best Cities To Visit Where You Don’t Need To Rent a Car
