Aug 5, 2008
If you're going to limit your summer vacation to a major U.S. city, be sure to pick up a CityPass
It's described at www.citypass.com, and it functions simply. Customers buy a packet of entry passes to about six major attractions. When you walk up to those attractions, you just show the packet, and the pass is detached, granting you admission. The price paid for the packet is always less than what you'd pay if you simply purchased the same number of tickets at their box offices. A savings of 50 percent is not unusual.
Unlike many so-called "passes" for sale to tourists by the day, CityPass (tel. 800/330-5008) doesn't require users to race around, seeing a large number of attractions quickly in order to make their investment pay off. Instead, visitors are given about a week to see everything, and if they intend to see four or five of the most important attractions, they will almost always benefit from the savings represented by CityPass.
Also, unlike many passes in the tourism industry, the attractions are generally not minor. They are usually the cream of each city. In New York, for example, the Empire State Building, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Statue of Liberty are all included. Chicago comes with the Sears Tower and the Field Museum. In San Francisco, the use of CityPass also grants unlimited free rides on city buses, trams, and even the famous cable cars (usually $5 per ride).
CityPass currently has deals in 11 important tourist areas:
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Unlike many so-called "passes" for sale to tourists by the day, CityPass (tel. 800/330-5008) doesn't require users to race around, seeing a large number of attractions quickly in order to make their investment pay off. Instead, visitors are given about a week to see everything, and if they intend to see four or five of the most important attractions, they will almost always benefit from the savings represented by CityPass.
Also, unlike many passes in the tourism industry, the attractions are generally not minor. They are usually the cream of each city. In New York, for example, the Empire State Building, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Statue of Liberty are all included. Chicago comes with the Sears Tower and the Field Museum. In San Francisco, the use of CityPass also grants unlimited free rides on city buses, trams, and even the famous cable cars (usually $5 per ride).
CityPass currently has deals in 11 important tourist areas:
- New York City
- San Francisco
- Philadelphia
- Chicago
- Boston
- Toronto
- Seattle
- Atlanta
- Southern California
- Hollywood
- Houston
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Labels: atlanta, boston, chicago, CityPass, houston, los angeles, new york city, philadelphia, san diego, san francisco, seattle
Feb 29, 2008
Winter brings substantial hotel discounts in cold-weather cities like Chicago and Boston -- a good time to visit their restaurants and museums
As soon as the temperature drops, so do hotel prices in chilly U.S. cities like Boston and Chicago. Urged on by their convention and visitors bureaus, hotels in and around these cities offer really impressive discounts, as well as packages padded with extras at no additional charge.
For winter hotel deals in Boston, and all over Massachusetts for that matter, go to www.massvacation.com and click on "Warm Winter Specials." Rates start as low as $79 per night for brand-name lodgings like Holiday Inn and Best Western. And several hotels in the Greater Boston area are available for $79 or $99 nightly -- about half what travelers pay in the peak of summer. The Best Western Terrace Inn, for example, is on Commonwealth Avenue, within walking distance of a T stop, and costs $99 per night. These, and other winter hotel specials, are available through the end of March and always include complimentary breakfast.
For Chicago, go to www.choosechicago.com and click on the icon that reads "Spring Break for Everyone." There you'll find more than 30 participating hotels offering special rates through April 15. Rates start for as low as $89 nightly, and several hotels offer further discounts for stays lasting more than one night, as well as perks like free gift cards to use at Starbucks and iTunes.
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For winter hotel deals in Boston, and all over Massachusetts for that matter, go to www.massvacation.com and click on "Warm Winter Specials." Rates start as low as $79 per night for brand-name lodgings like Holiday Inn and Best Western. And several hotels in the Greater Boston area are available for $79 or $99 nightly -- about half what travelers pay in the peak of summer. The Best Western Terrace Inn, for example, is on Commonwealth Avenue, within walking distance of a T stop, and costs $99 per night. These, and other winter hotel specials, are available through the end of March and always include complimentary breakfast.
For Chicago, go to www.choosechicago.com and click on the icon that reads "Spring Break for Everyone." There you'll find more than 30 participating hotels offering special rates through April 15. Rates start for as low as $89 nightly, and several hotels offer further discounts for stays lasting more than one night, as well as perks like free gift cards to use at Starbucks and iTunes.
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Labels: boston, chicago, deals
Oct 2, 2007
On your next visit to New York City or Chicago, don't fail to sign up for a free-of-charge "greeters program"
It's obvious that on a visit to any big city, your most valuable asset is a resident cousin or friend who can show you around. If you don't have access to such a treasure, your next best asset is the "greeter program" operated by New York City and Chicago.
New York's Big Apple Greeter program (www.bigapplegreeter.org) was started by New Yorker Lynn Brooks in 1992. It has since grown into an army of 300 volunteers who can serve as that friend-of-a-friend in town and help orient new visitors to the city and their choice of neighborhood -- and it doesn't cost a dime.
It's important to stress that this isn't a tour guide service, and these greeters aren't paid. They are simply New Yorkers willing to volunteer their time -- typically two to four hours to help newcomers settle in. Depending on your needs and interests, this may take the form of lessons in how to untangle the subway system maps and master the cross-town bus transfer, or a stroll around the East Village, Upper West Side, or any other neighborhood you've longed to explore, your greeter pointing out favorite shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants and sharing the kind of local history and knowledge that there's little room for in a guidebook.
You must submit a request for a greeter at least three to four weeks in advance of your visit, and must be staying in New York for at least two nights. You only get one greeter per visit and, especially during the busiest times of year, they may very well run out of volunteers for your dates.
The program has been such a success it has spawned a sister program in
the Windy City: Chicago Greeter (www.chicagogreeter.com), for which advance notice from the visitor can be as little as seven business days. Note that the site contains appreciations from visitors who have used the service, like a California couple who wrote this about their greeter: "Gerry should be given the keys to the city. He has to be the best possible goodwill ambassador. Our tour of the Cultural Center and historical locations was terrific and he used his in-depth knowledge of the city to educate and entertain us for almost 5 hours. The Chicago Greeter program is a wonderful idea." -- Jim and Mabel, Valencia, CA
Shouldn't other U.S. cities create their own greeter programs?
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New York's Big Apple Greeter program (www.bigapplegreeter.org) was started by New Yorker Lynn Brooks in 1992. It has since grown into an army of 300 volunteers who can serve as that friend-of-a-friend in town and help orient new visitors to the city and their choice of neighborhood -- and it doesn't cost a dime.
It's important to stress that this isn't a tour guide service, and these greeters aren't paid. They are simply New Yorkers willing to volunteer their time -- typically two to four hours to help newcomers settle in. Depending on your needs and interests, this may take the form of lessons in how to untangle the subway system maps and master the cross-town bus transfer, or a stroll around the East Village, Upper West Side, or any other neighborhood you've longed to explore, your greeter pointing out favorite shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants and sharing the kind of local history and knowledge that there's little room for in a guidebook.
You must submit a request for a greeter at least three to four weeks in advance of your visit, and must be staying in New York for at least two nights. You only get one greeter per visit and, especially during the busiest times of year, they may very well run out of volunteers for your dates.
The program has been such a success it has spawned a sister program in
the Windy City: Chicago Greeter (www.chicagogreeter.com), for which advance notice from the visitor can be as little as seven business days. Note that the site contains appreciations from visitors who have used the service, like a California couple who wrote this about their greeter: "Gerry should be given the keys to the city. He has to be the best possible goodwill ambassador. Our tour of the Cultural Center and historical locations was terrific and he used his in-depth knowledge of the city to educate and entertain us for almost 5 hours. The Chicago Greeter program is a wonderful idea." -- Jim and Mabel, Valencia, CA
Shouldn't other U.S. cities create their own greeter programs?
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: chicago, new york city
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
