USA East Coast

The East Coast of the United States is the country's urban, cultural and historical heart — a 700 km Atlantic coastline from Boston (Massachusetts) to Washington D.C. via New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, concentrating the densest American heritage, the main universities (Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn), the seats of political (Washington) and financial (Wall Street) power, and the world's quintessential metropolis (NYC). This is where American independence was born (Boston 1773 Tea Party, Philadelphia 1776 Declaration of Independence), where the universal museums sit (MET, MoMA, Smithsonian) and where the country's cultural energy pulses (Broadway, jazz, hip-hop).

The region organises around three complementary hubs linked by the Acela train (3h NYC-Washington, 3h45 NYC-Boston, $50-250). New York (8.3 million inhabitants, 19 million metro area) dominates unchallenged — Manhattan and its iconic skyscrapers (Empire State, Chrysler, One World Trade Center), Times Square and Broadway, Central Park (340 hectares), Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, MET and MoMA, Brooklyn and Williamsburg, Queens and the US Open. Probably the most visited US city (66 million visitors/year), world economic, cultural and media capital. Washington D.C. (federal capital, 700,000 inhabitants) concentrates American political power — Capitol, White House, National Mall monuments (Lincoln, Washington, MLK, Jefferson Memorial), Smithsonian museums (19 institutions, free access, among the world's most important), Arlington Cemetery. Boston (650,000 inhabitants, Massachusetts capital) is the most European US city — Freedom Trail (4 km, 16 historical sites), Harvard and MIT in Cambridge, Fenway Park (Red Sox), Beacon Hill and North End (Little Italy) neighbourhoods, cradle of American independence (Tea Party 1773, Bunker Hill 1775, Concord 1775).

The pitch is clear: it's the key region for a first urban cultural US trip. Direct flight from Paris (8h to NYC, 7h to Boston or Washington), tolerable jet-lag (-6h), fast Acela train between the three cities, no car needed (excellent public transport in NYC and Boston, metro in Washington), immediate cultural rewards (free Smithsonian, MET $30, MoMA $25), world-class dining (Katz's deli, Per Se, Le Bernardin in NYC). It's also the most budget-accessible US region outside NYC (Boston and Washington 30-40% cheaper than Manhattan).