North America
The original melting pot — big cities, bigger landscapes, endless reinvention.
The United States is less a country than a continent of them — a sweep of world cities, wild landscapes and cultures running from Atlantic to Pacific. New York is the essential first hit: the densest, most electric city in the country, where a hundred nationalities stack onto one island of skyscrapers, the food and art and music never stop, and the energy is like nowhere else on earth. Fast, expensive and endlessly stimulating — the city the movies taught you to love before you ever arrived.
What things cost: New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world — hotels especially, plus a tipping culture (18–20%) and sales tax added at the till that inflate every price. But street food, the subway, the pay-what-you-wish museums and the parks cost little. When a zone below says 'low', that means low for Manhattan, which is still dear.
Sometimes the event picks the city for you.
The giant-balloon parade that signals the start of the holidays — colossal cartoon characters floating down from the Upper West Side to Macy's, watched by millions on the streets and TV. Bundle up and stake out a spot early, or watch the balloons inflate the night before.
New York · Central Park West to Herald Square
The famous ball drop — a million people packed into Times Square in the freezing cold to watch the crystal ball fall at midnight, broadcast to the world. An endurance test (no toilets, hours of waiting), but a bucket-list night; most locals watch from a warm bar instead.
New York · Times Square
The largest Chinese New Year celebration outside Asia — a spectacular night parade through downtown and Chinatown, with a 250-foot golden dragon, lion dancers, floats, marching bands and firecrackers. A dazzling, only-in-SF tradition dating back over 150 years; come for the parade and the Chinatown festivities.
San Francisco · Downtown & Chinatown
One of the world's biggest and most historic Pride celebrations, in the city at the heart of the gay-rights movement — a huge, jubilant parade down Market Street and a weekend-long party drawing over a million people. Exuberant, colourful and deeply meaningful; the Castro is the epicentre.
San Francisco · Market Street & the Castro
One of the biggest Pride celebrations on earth, in the city where the movement began at Stonewall — a vast, jubilant march down Fifth Avenue and through the Village, capping a month of parties and events. Colourful, joyous and quintessentially New York.
New York · Fifth Avenue & Greenwich Village
The city's giant music festival, staged among the meadows and eucalyptus of Golden Gate Park — three days of huge headliners across multiple stages, plus a famous line-up of Bay Area food, wine and craft beer. A quintessential SF summer event (bring layers, the park gets foggy and cold); book ahead.
San Francisco · Golden Gate Park
