Best Day Ever
What makes your city special? We asked the experts — travel editors and columnists from local magazines and newspapers — what the best day to visit their city is in 2012.
Museum Mile Festival
BUFFALO, NY
● Donn Esmonde, metro columnist at the The Buffalo News
● "Opening day of the annual Taste of Buffalo (July 7), when visitors can sample an array of local cuisines — from celebrated Buffalo chicken wings to succulent beef on weck — while strolling past our art deco city hall, Louis Sullivan's Guaranty building and other local architectural gems."
NEW YORK
● Lisa Ritchie, travel editor at Time Out New York
● "To get a taste of the city's world-class museums without a big-ticket commitment, time your trip with the Museum Mile Festival (June 12), when a 23-block stretch of Fifth Avenue is closed to traffic and 10 institutions offer free entry for three hours. Long lines are the catch, but there's a party vibe and free music."
SAN FRANCISCO
● Julia Cosgrove, editor-in-chief of AFAR
● "Visit on September 15, when we finally get summer weather. Start your day in the Outer Sunset, walk on Ocean Beach, and wander up Judah Street. Stop for a latte and cinnamon toast at the tiny Trouble Coffee (shown), pick up books and quirky handmade gifts at the General Store, and eat a late brunch at Outerlands. The vibe is perfectly northern Californian."
ATLANTA
● Debbie Michaud, culture editor at Creative Loafing
● "Atlanta is a city of festivals, and no weekend better proves that than Labor Day weekend, when a dozen or so big fests take over the town. Come Saturday (September 1), and you can check out the bizarre but fun Dragon*Con parade (shown) and hit up any number of author events at the sprawling Decatur Book Festival."
INDIANAPOLIS
● Ashley Petry, travel columnist at The Indianapolis Star
● "Forget the noise and crowds of the Indy 500. On Friday evenings in summer (I suggest June 1), Indy heads outdoors for its First Friday gallery walks, baseball games at Victory Field, concerts under the stars at Symphony on the Prairie (shown) and picnic dates at the India-napolis Museum of Art's outdoor film series."
BALTIMORE
● Michelle Deal, lifestyle and travel editor at The Baltimore Sun
● "Baltimore's Best Day is Preakness Day (May 19). The Preakness Stakes is the second leg in the Triple Crown and has been a Baltimore institution for more than 130 years. As such, it's packed with tradition, history, competition and color — and even a little bawdy fun, which are all elements that define Baltimore."
ST. LOUIS
● Amy Bertrand, travel editor at St. Louis Post-Dispatch
● "The best day to visit St. Louis has to be opening day for the World Series champion Cardinals (April 13). From the sea of red swarming around the stadium to the smell of hot dogs wafting from the stands to the jazz musicians that line the streets, it's the perfect time to catch a glimpse of everything that makes this city under the Arch so memorable."
BOSTON
● Courtney Hollands, senior lifestyle editor at Boston Magazine
● "On Patriots Day (April 16), known to locals as 'Marathon Monday,' watch thousands of Boston Marathoners sprint, trot and limp through Ken-more Square, just one mile from the race's finish line, with screaming college students and spectators from around the world. It's exhilarating, especially when you can also hear fans cheering on the Red Sox in nearby Fenway Park."
WASHINGTON DC
● Matt Long, editor-in-chief of travel website landlopers.com
● "Imagine listening to New Orleans jazz, detecting the faint smell of Colombian patacones and watching a Bhutanese dance performance, all within sight of the US Capitol. That's the global party that is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Come July 4, when it overlaps with DC's over-the-top Independence Day celebrations to showcase Washington at its best."
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