Best Cities for Tourists Without a Car

I receive a lot (A LOT) of press releases and story pitches on a huge variety of subjects. Some are a great fit for my blog; most are not. Occasionally, I receive one that seems like a miss at first, but sparks an idea for my blog. Such was the case with Lawn Starter's interesting research about the best cities in the United States to live without a car. They looked at the walkability, transit options, climate, pedestrian safety, and other factors in order to compile their ranking of 200 cities. The results are fascinating, but not exactly relevant to my blog. 

Or maybe they are. As a travel blogger, I don't particularly care which cities are best to live in without a car, but I definitely am interested in which are the best to visit without a car. When I plan trips, one of the first things I check is whether or not we will need to rent a car after we fly to our first destination. It makes no sense to rent a car to drive from the airport to the hotel, then pay to park that car at the hotel for 3 days while we walk to all the attractions. 

Below you'll find my own list of 10 cities we have visited that are great for tourists without a car. In each case, the tourist attractions are all within a reasonable (and safe) walking distance of hotels and/or the cities have convenient (and safe) public transportation options or a hop-on-hop-off bus that hits the major sites. For fun, see if you can identify the city just from its nickname and the photo. Then click the image to see if you're right and to read about our family's experience in that city. 

Best Cities for Tourists Without a Car

1. The City of Roses

2. The City of Brotherly Love

3. Music City

4. Emerald City

5. The City Different

6. Cream City

7. The Windy City

8. The Live Music Capital of the World

9. Mill City

10. The Big Easy

Were you able to guess them all? Do you know of other cities that belong on the list? Let me know in the comments!